Approved 10-11-21

 

ACADEMIC STAFF ASSEMBLY MEETING MINUTES

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97520518207?pwd=NXJLU0sySU9rZjQxWk5NanFnZHA1UT09

Monday, September 13, 2021

3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

 

ASEC Chair Tim Dalby called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.

 

Guests: Mark Walters, Chief Human Resources Officer; Karen Massetti-Moran, Director of Total Rewards; and Lotus Buckner, Director of Talent Management, Office of Human Resources

The transition to the single payroll structure took place in July. Academic staff and faculty were moved from monthly to biweekly pay. Communications are currently focused on C-basis employees, who have at this point received their first partial paycheck, with their first full paycheck scheduled for September 23. All employees are now on the single payroll schedule. OHR received very little feedback after the transition. UW-Madison rolled out a short-term loan program to provide employees with assistance in  making the transition. Approximately 780 employees received a loan.

 

Friday, September 10 was the deadline for completion of employee-supervisor conversations regarding new titles resulting from the Title and Total Compensation Project. As of the morning of September 13, over 14,600 positions have been completed and finalized, with 27 unmapped positions that are new hires. OHR is reviewing the mappings that were made and updating IT systems with the data set. Employees who have not had a conversation or have concerns about their conversations should reach out to their local HR department. All staff will receive a notification letter with their new titles by November 1, at which point the salary structure will also be posted. Letters will include the employee’s new job title, salary grade, proposed business title (if one was determined), FLSA status of the position, links to the salary structure, and links to the appeals process. Employment categories are not changing, and benefits and pay will remain the same. The project will be implemented on November 7. There will be an appeals process for TTC titles, and appeals can be submitted between November 22 and December 31. Appeals received after December 31 will not be considered, and informal resolution should be sought before filing an appeal. Employees must provide the reason for their appeal. Employees cannot appeal their current salary, the assigned salary grade, language in the position description, titles assigned to a standard job description, language in the standard job description, or FLSA status. The full appeals process is expected to go through July 2022. OHR is creating resources for units to ensure that review of employee salaries and progression is happening, with tools for equity and parity analysis across campus. Plans to ensure people are getting pay adjustments beyond the pay plan are in progress but have not yet been finalized.

 

The process of implementing remote work agreements continues. Employees can still submit remote work agreements as needed. As of September 13, 81% of agreements that have been submitted in the system have been fully executed, and OHR is continuing to work with supervisors and HR representatives to ensure agreements are progressing through the system. For academic staff, 82.7% of agreements have been executed. Faculty and clinical faculty are exempt from the remote work policy unless they are working outside of Wisconsin. The team is still putting together data on average percentages of remote work that employees are requesting.

 

Guest: Kathi Kilgore, Executive Director, Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization (ASPRO)

ASPRO held a virtual budget briefing in mid-May. Since then, the Joint Committee on Finance has approved funding for 2 2% pay plan increases during the biennium, effective January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2023. The plan is expected to go to the Joint Committee on Employee Relations for final approval sometime between now and December. The Joint Committee on Finance did not continue the tuition freeze, and the Board of Regents chose not to increase tuition rates for this year. The state budget contained limited increases in funding for UW System, with $8.25 million in new funds for a variety of initiatives. ASPRO has been active in lobbying on the budget with the pay plan. The Governor also announced a reversal of the lapses from the state in June, and those funds will be returned to the UW System. The legislative session that remains will wrap up work in February 2022, and the focus is expected to be on redistricting. ASPRO is always looking for new members, and there is currently a promotion for 3 months free or a reduced rate for an annual membership. Academic staff are encouraged to contact Kathi or ASPRO Board members with any questions they might have.

 

Guest: Brady Minter, President, Madison Academic Staff Network (MASN)

The Madison Academic Staff Network is an organization that provides information about issues pertinent to academic staff, a forum for discussing issues, regular networking opportunities, and one-off events. MASN is in the process of developing the event calendar for the 2021-22 academic year and will publish this soon. There are currently two openings on the executive board, and Brady encouraged anyone who might be interested in those—or in learning more about the group—to contact him directly or see the website at https://madisonacademicstaffnetwork.org.

 

Automatic Consent Business

The Academic Staff Assembly minutes of Monday, May 10, 2021, were approved.

 

Academic Staff Assembly Standing Committee Election Results (ASA #763)

Secretary of the Academic Staff Jake Smith announced the election results for the Assembly standing committees. Mary Ellen Gabriel, Sarina Lotlikar, and Karla Weber were elected to the Communications Committee. Larry Jolon, Elizabeth Manriquez, and Elizabeth Tuschen were elected to the Compensation and Economic Benefits Committee. Rebecca Beebe and Taryn Conaway were elected to the Districting and Representation Committee. Gretchen Anding, Kendra Gurnee, and Vanessa Taulbee were elected to the Mentoring Committee. Brady Minter, Alison Rice, and Goodson Vue were elected to the Nominating Committee. Diane Farsetta, Toni Gunnison, and Kelly Rupp were elected to the Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee. Tami Bradham, Ilia Guzei, Angela Kita, and Debra Shapiro were elected to the Professional Development and Recognition Committee. Terms are from July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024.

 

Reports

ASEC Chair Tim Dalby welcomed new members of the Academic Staff Assembly and the Academic Staff Executive Committee for the new academic year. He encouraged attendees to register for the Academic Staff Mentor Match program. The deadline to sign up is September 17. Tim reminded attendees that carryover vacation from the 2020 fiscal year needs to be used by October 9. ASEC met and discussed a variety of topics over the summer, most notably remote work, TTC, and the single payroll transition. More details can be viewed in the ASEC report and in the minutes. The ASEC listening hours will continue through the fall to give representatives another way to communicate with ASEC members and the Secretary’s office. Looking forward, ASEC wants to continue to engage with issues around diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as accessibility, and to continue to think about how to better foster a sense of belonging for everyone that works at UW-Madison.

 

Resolution Regarding Assembly Districts and the November-December 2021 Assembly Meetings (ASA #764)

Lindsey Stoddard Cameron, ASEC member, moved approval of Academic Staff Document #764, the Resolution Regarding Assembly Districts and the November-December 2021 Assembly Meetings. Seconded. Approved.

 

Provost Report

Provost Scholz highlighted a number of recent rankings for UW-Madison. In the Academic Rankings of World Universities, UW-Madison ranked 31^st in the world, up from 32^nd last year. UW-Madison is also up from 26^th to 25^th in the Center for World University Rankings. Washington Monthly magazine designed rankings that are based around improvement in research standing, supporting social mobility in society, and encouraging democratic participation in society. UW-Madison was in the top 5 universities in this ranking, and was the only public university in the top 5. Vaccination rates on campus are high, with 90.5% of students and 92.8% of employees fully vaccinated according to the most recent data on the UW-Madison COVID dashboard. Provost Scholz announced the appointment of individuals in campus-level administrative roles: LaVar Charleston as the Chief Diversity Officer, Nancy Lynch as the Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs, and Rob Cramer as the Interim Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration. The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring was officially launched on July 1, which is an organization that supports academic staff instructors and faculty. John Zumbrunnen and Megan Schmid are leading CTLM and helping to get it off the ground. The fall semester is off to a good start so far, with students back on campus. Provost Scholz reiterated his gratitude to academic staff and other groups for helping to get the semester off to a good start.

 

Meeting adjourned at 4:50 pm.

 

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff