PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE
2004-2005 Annual Report

June 17, 2005

Major projects during the year

Drafted various revisions in Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) for consideration by the Academic Staff Assembly; all of the following received Assembly approval and are awaiting approval by the Provost and then transmission to the Board of Regents

 Clarified definitions of budget or program decision, funding loss, and years of service and added a definition of employing unit
 Allowed departments to offer new employees only the web addresses of two lengthy documents
 Specified that the employee selects the representatives present during appeals
 Allowed joinder of cases of nonrenewal as well as layoff
 Made consistent the language on the basis of appeals for nonrenewals and layoffs
 Allowed for delaying a personal presentation in a dean's review of a dismissal
 Added language to recognize the new Ombuds Office as another source of advice and information during informal resolution of an employment problem
 Suggested that academic staff with supervisory roles should be reviewed as supervisors

[**new (passed by Assembly in April 2005)]
 Added to ASPP the statutory language establishing academic staff governance
 Removed the requirement for evaluations of staff on terminal appointments; added a requirement that the dean, director, or designee approve terminations of appointments during the evaluation period and that the employee be given the reasons
 Introduced the idea of suspending the evaluation period in certain circumstances
 Changed the language to strongly recommend rather than require a written performance evaluation at the midpoint of a period of evaluation
 Allowed an employee to receive reasons if new or increased job security is not offered
 Clarified the procedure when a new employer is willing to continue a previously granted indefinite appointment
 Clarified the information distribution after an appeal is filed
 Renamed Chapter 4 and added an explanatory note about probationary appointments

Continued to monitor job security at the UW-Madison

 Sent to all academic staff a flyer describing the ASPP-mandated review of employees with five or more years of service for a rolling-horizon, indefinite, or multiple-year appointment

 Reviewed the school and college reports on job security offered or modified during 2003-04; reviewed questionable reasons for denying job security to long-term employees; prepared a summary report and sent copies to the Assembly and school and college Committees on Academic Staff Issues

Other topics addressed

• Reviewed the annual reports of the Distinguished Prefix Review Committee and four Area Review Committees (Administrative/Student Services, Biological/Medical, Humanities/Social Science, and Physical Sciences/Engineering)
• Reviewed quarterly reports on grievances and appeals submitted by the Academic Personnel Office
• Responded to inquiries from the Academic Personnel Office regarding interpretations of ASPP
• Reviewed changes in operating procedures of the Academic Staff Appeals Committee
• Reviewed proposed revisions to the academic staff disability accommodation policy before they went to the Academic Staff Assembly and were passed
• Participated in pre-Assembly meeting where representatives could ask questions about committee activities

Committee members
Daniel Barnish 
Maureen Noonan Bischof
Carlotta Calmese
Jeanne Hendricks
Carla Love
John Mather
Amy Pritchard
Rebecca Ryan
Ann Wallace (Chair)