Approved 10-13-25

ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY MEETING MINUTES

272 Bascom Hall

Monday, September 8, 2025

3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (VCFA) Rob Cramer called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.

Guest: Karen Massetti-Moran, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Office of Human Resources (OHR)

OHR enjoys its collaboration with shared governance and meets regularly with the Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC). Deputy CHRO Massetti-Moran highlighted several initiatives OHR worked on in the past year.

Workday went live on July 7, 2025. As part of the change management process, OHR led a campus-wide strategy with toolkits and dashboards to support HR professionals, managers, and employees. OHR training delivery included 20 webinars and 9 additional hours of follow-up sessions for employees with security roles. OHR also created HR guides to support employees, supervisors, and HR professionals. Based on positive feedback, they plan to continue this resource as Workday evolves. Employees are reminded to download the Workday Mobile app. There is a HR guide for instructions on installing the app: hr.wisc.edu/hr-guides/for-employees/instructions-for-installing-workday-on-a-mobile-device/. GetHelpUW is a ticketing system for employees to seek assistance with issues, questions, or guidance on Workday. The next phase for Workday is stabilization. The Workday and Enterprise Solutions Team (WEST) will play an important role in this effort. They will work on system upgrades and receive information regarding system defects, requests for improvements and enhancements to reports, etc. WEST will collaborate with the Universities of Wisconsin, our campus, and the other UW campuses through a governance process that is being established. WEST is also working on a webpage to track the prioritization and progress of changes/updates to the system.

Employee Trust Funds (ETF) implemented a new benefits system: My Insurance Benefits (MIBs). ETF recommends employees use their personal email address when setting up a MIBs account. Benefits Open Enrollment for 2026 will occur in MIBs. The Open Enrollment period is October 6-31, 2025. The Employee Benefits and Resource Fair will take place on October 14, 2025 in Varsity Hall at Union South.

The pay plan, included in the 2025-2027 state budget, was legislatively approved and signed into law by the governor with an official implementation date of August 10. OHR was able to implement the pay plan utilizing Workday. Workday made it easier to notify and distribute letters to employees. OHR received feedback from employees on having to accept the pay plan letter. The 3% increase went into effect on June 29, 2025 for eligible employees with 12-month appointments, and on August 18, 2025 for those with 9-month appointments. The next 2% increase will take effect on June 28, 2026 and August 17, 2026, respectively.

Regarding career progression and promotion, the Compensation Center of Excellence (CCoE) spent significant time in the last year listening to feedback and collaborated with different stakeholder groups, including a presentation at an Academic Staff Chat in Spring 2025 on career progression and promotion pathways. To further promote education and resources to support career progression and promotion, CCoE provides compensation consultations for divisional HR.

Paid parental leave was implemented on July 1, 2024. Between July 1, 2024 and July 28, 2025, 454 faculty, academic staff, limited, and university staff utilized this valuable program, as well as 19 postdocs. Graduate assistants are leveraging this program, however given their leave is not in HRS or Workday, there is no way to effectively track this information at this time.

In the area of talent management, the strategic focus remains on building a workplace with top talent and where that top talent can thrive. Several initiatives to attract and retain top talent include the Work with Bucky Campaign, the ongoing UW South Madison Partnership, and the Job Rotation Program. The Talent Pathways team was recently recognized for inclusive hiring practices. They received the Madison Metropolitan School District Project SEARCH Advocacy Award recognizing campus’ commitment to neurodiverse talent. To support employee growth, OHR extended the LinkedIn Learning contract based on data showing strong engagement and valuable impact. OHR’s Learning and Talent Development is offering a new program, Career Development at UW. This program will run hour long virtual sessions this fall. The first session is September 24. Employees can select which sessions they would like to join. Employees are not required to attend all sessions.

The Employee Assistance Office (EAO) served nearly 3,300 employees in the last year, just under a 40% increase compared to the prior year. LifeMatters (hr.wisc.edu/employee-assistance-office/lifematters/) is an additional support for employees. In fiscal year 2025, LifeMatters supported 530 individuals and reached nearly 1,800 through group sessions, presentations, and critical incident responses. The ETF Wellness Initiative, also known as the Well Wisconsin Program (etf.wi.gov/resource/well-wisconsin-launch-flyer), provides employee well-being tools and resources.

Guest: Stephen Colleton and Tena Madison, Co-Chairs, Ad Hoc Committee on Age in the Workplace

Ad Hoc Committee on Age in the Workplace Co-Chairs Colleton and Madison presented the committee’s report (ASA #851). The committee approached its work through appreciative inquiry and to maximize their expertise and effort, divided into three subgroups: data, experience, and literature review. The co-chairs provided a high-level overview of recommendations across the following areas: hiring (affirm use of age-inclusive language and training in recruitment); benefits (caregiving and bereavement leave, tuition remission for employees and dependents); compensation (examine age-related salary compression); climate surveys (expand data collection to include age); and professional development (amplify career pathways).

Automatic Consent Business

The Academic Staff Assembly minutes of Monday, May 12, 2025 and Thursday, May 15, 2025 were approved.

Reports

ASEC Chair Alissa Ewer presented the ASEC report. The 2025-2026 Mentor Match Program is accepting applications through September 12. Nominations for serving on the Dean of the School of Nursing Search and Screen Committee are due on September 15 at noon. Registration is open for the University Roundtable Series Fall 2025 programming. ASEC held its retreat in August and determined their goals for the year. These goals include clarifying policy on flexible work arrangements, amplifying shared governance, and ensuring reskilling or professional development opportunities for academic staff anticipating layoff status.

Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization (ASPRO) Board President Jenny Dahlberg presented the ASPRO report. ASPRO serves academic staff across the Universities of Wisconsin. ASPRO is seeking to grow its membership and reminded Assembly representatives and alternates that membership application forms are available at Assembly meetings and online (aspro.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ASPRO-Membership-Application-Limited-Time-Offer-2025.pdf). ASPRO will host a booth at the Employee Benefits and Resource Fair on October 14.

Diane Stojanovich, ASEC member, presented the report on 2024-25 Academic Staff Assembly Business (ASA #852). Stojanovich thanked the Assembly for their governance service. The Assembly voted on four resolutions and changes to Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP). The summary document provides information on the outcome of the resolutions and the approved ASPP policy changes.

Resolution for Implementation of Key Findings from the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Age in the Workplace (ASA #854)

Alissa Ewer, ASEC chair, presented the Resolution for Implementation of Key Findings from the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Age in the Workplace for a first reading. Representatives and alternates were invited to submit feedback or comments to the Office of the Secretary of the Academic Staff by September 26.

Vice Chancellor Report

VCFA Cramer welcomed new and returning Assembly representatives and alternates. He also highlighted a number of successes since the end of the last academic year. Camp Randall hosted three concerts. University Housing welcomed nearly 9,000 new and returning students to the residence halls over the last couple of weeks.

Morgridge Hall was completed on time and under budget. It houses the School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences and the Data Science Institute. After a number of unexpected delays, Engineering Hall construction has started.

Campus continues to track federal issues, including the October 1 deadline with respect to the next federal budget. The state budget concluded July 4, and the pay plan has been implemented. Going into the fall the campus continues to work to understand and navigate the issues at the state and federal level.

The Fall Academic Leadership Summit convened academic leaders from across the campus. The summit included a presentation on Association of American Universities (AAU) polling information regarding perceptions of higher education nationally and in Wisconsin (WI). The AAU provides polling data on a regular basis for UW–Madison. The results revealed the majority of WI respondents agree that the state is in a better place because of UW–Madison.

With respect to sustainability efforts, UW–Madison was awarded Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) Gold. This achievement is an institutional goal outlined in the Chancellor’s sustainability initiative.

The LinkUW (linkuw.wisc.edu/) initiative originates from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration and seeks to provide transactional services to a number of units on campus in the areas of HR and finance. The aim of this initiative is to help improve delivery and services, and free up time in the units for other activities.

Meeting adjourned at 5:07 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Mallory Musolf, secretary of the academic staff