Approved 11-19-20

 

ASEC Minutes

1:45 – 4:30 p.m. Thursday, November 5, 2020

https://us.bbcollab.com/guest/d59bdf2e0e574b25bad3ed2fe1494daf

Members Present: Jenny Dahlberg, chair; Tim Dalby; Stephanie Elkins; Mallory Musolf; Leslie Petty; Deb Shapiro; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron; Bill Tishler

Guests: Lois Brooks, Lesley Fisher, Denny Hackel, Andrew Hahn, Cathy Lloyd, Allison Niles, Karl Scholz, Patrick Sheehan, Nick Tincher, Tamara Walker

The meeting was called to order at 1:46 p.m.

The minutes of October 29 were approved.

General Reports

Jenny Dahlberg, ASEC chair, reported that she and Tim Dalby met with the other shared governance chairs that morning. The group discussed mental health and wellness issues, as well as resources and strategies to help employees in this area. The single payroll plan was also discussed. ASPRO is currently working on a letter to Interim System President Thompson asking for a delay to the implementation, and PROFS may sign on to the letter as well.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported on the results of the survey of instructional academic staff with respect to instructional modality in the fall and spring semesters. The results closely mirrored those of faculty. He also reported that the Faculty Senate passed a change to Faculty Policies and Procedures enabling academic staff to retain graduate faculty status for one year following retirement or resignation.

Guests: Nick Tincher and Patrick Sheehan, Administrative Transformation Project

Nick and Patrick reported on the current status of the Administrative Transformation Project (ATP). Like everything else, ATP has been impacted by the pandemic. The project team extended the pre-planning timeline and then went to the Board of Regents for acceptance of the business case at the October 8 meeting. The Board gave its approval to move forward. The budget for ATP won’t start until pre-planning is completed on July 1. The team is stretching the pre-planning budget as far as possible, and they are participating in the hiring freeze. New positions have to be for skillsets that are not already present on the team but are necessary. In February, the Board approved a lease for office space for ATP over the next 5 years. Conversations are ongoing as to the necessity of this space given remote work during the pandemic. The ATP timeline for UW-Madison goes through July 2024

An overview of “9-over-12” was provided, which is an optional enrollment for 9-month appointees to distribute their academic salary over 12 months. This has been discussed for a number of years, and there are a number of interdependencies to consider. There have been technical and policy concerns in previous years, but with a new Cloud ERP implementation, 9-over-12 would now be possible. Currently, pay is disbursed in 9 equal payments from October 1 – June 1, aligning with the academic start and end dates for System institutions. Summer appointments are paid separately. There will be an opportunity for 9-month appointees to opt into this, but it will not be mandatory. Enrollment would take place at the beginning of the academic year, with benefits and taxes spread over 12 months. There are several advantages to this enrollment, including receipt of payment over the summer months and alignment with tax withholding and deductions with an annual salary. This change would reduce administrative overhead and bring UW-Madison in line with other peer institutions.

Guests: Lois Brooks, Chief Information Officer; and Tamara Walker, Director of User Services, Division of Information Technology

Lois and Tamara provided updates on a number of platforms used by the university, including Zoom, Box, and Qualtrics. Lois discussed cybersecurity becoming a renewed focus in the coming year, with new policies on the way. An emerging topic is also the use of Canvas. Instructors can bring in their own tools to create a customized teaching experience, which is positive, but there needs to be a balance between innovation and security.

Zoom as a project came out of conversations with faculty governance, specifically a survey that showed considerable faculty support for Zoom. An advisory group consisting of faculty, staff, and students worked to determine what campus needs might consist of. Zoom was rolled out before fall semester, but a fully supported structure was not in place. There has been a steady rollout of updates each week, and usage continues to increase. Future initiatives include integration with Canvas for the spring semester and Kaltura for video storage. Regarding Box, there was recently an evaluation project to look at how campus uses Box. In considering what the best services for storage are in specific instances, as well as storage quota, DoIT is considering how we will move forward with Box in the future. On the topic of Qualtrics, this is a tool that is used significantly on campus. UW System recently kicked off a RFP for a new survey tool to be used at UW System. Madison is participating in the RFP and has shared its requirements with UW System, but we are also looking at options for continuing the use of Qualtrics as well.

Guest: Cathy Lloyd, Office of Data Management and Analytics Services (Institutional Data Policy)

Cathy provided an update on the Institutional Data Policy. There is a website where individuals can engage with the policy (https://data.wisc.edu/institutional-data-policy/), and FAQs continue to be added. The policy is something that many of our higher education peers already have. It is different from cybersecurity policies, but this policy did go through numerous reviews with stakeholders across campus. It was developed by the Data Governance Council. The policy establishes key roles and terms with respect to data, particularly data created outside the area of academic research. It also formally establishes principles, expectations, and rules around data usage, access, and security, and provides the basis for development of detailed standards and procedures regarding data. The policy is being implemented in a phased approach. It was issued on September 1 and is effective for new systems as of January 1, 2021. The policy will go into effect for currently existing systems on January 1, 2022.

Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), (e) and (f) to Discuss Appointment to the Campus Committee on Diversity Education and Training and to Discuss University Business Matters with Competitive Implications (Dalby). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Petty). Seconded. Approved.

Business

·       Appointment – for vote

Motion to appoint Binnu Palta Hill to the Campus Committee on Diversity Education and Training (Shapiro). Seconded. Approved.

·       December Assembly Agenda

ASEC reviewed an initial draft of the December Assembly Agenda.

·       Topics for Guests

Provost: updates on spring planning

VCFA: further impacts to auxiliaries, single payroll structure, longer term budgetary strategy (3-5 years past the pandemic)

OHR: single payroll system

Meeting adjourned at 4:44 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff