Topics Map > Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) > 2021-2022 > 05. November
Academic Staff Executive Committee Minutes 11-04-21
Approved 11-18-21
ASEC
Minutes
2:00 –
4:30 p.m. Thursday, November 4, 2021
53
Bascom Hall
https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93936751067
Members Present: Jenny Dahlberg; Tim Dalby, chair;
Stephanie Elkins; Stephanie Jones; Mallory Musolf; Leslie
Petty; Lindsey Stoddard Cameron; Bill Tishler
Guests: Lisa Aarli,
Carsyn Ames, Dominic Colosi, Lesley Fisher, Pamela
Garcia-Rivera, Kevin Graeme, Jennifer Hart, Karen Massetti-Moran,
Aphra Mednick, Christopher Pevey Harry, Keri Robbins, Ashley Toy, Mark Walters
The meeting was called to order at 2:02
p.m.
The minutes of October 28 were
approved.
Guest: Aphra Mednick, Interim
Director, Office of Youth Protection and Compliance
Aphra Mednick and Keri Robbins
presented an update on the status of the Youth Protection Policy. They are
positive about the direction for the policy as well as well as youth protection
in general on our campus. The pandemic has had a significant impact on youth
activity on campus, with no activity from March 2020 – August 2021. This
afforded time for more work on the policy. There was significant feedback on
the policy throughout Spring 2020 from a variety of stakeholders, including the
Precollege Council and the Ad Hoc Committee on the Implementation of the Youth
Protection Policy. The revised policy has an expected implementation date of
January 1, 2022. It went to the Offices of the Provost and the Vice Chancellor
for Finance and Administration for review this week. The revised policy focuses
on broadening the perspective of the policy in its definitions, increasing the
nuance with which it is applied, and increasing the focus on youth protection
instead of logistics. The Division of Extension is no longer a specific exemption
in this policy. The Office of Youth Protection and Compliance has worked to
move this policy from one that has a one-size-fits-all approach to one with greater
differentiation in the types of activities that we are hosting as an
institution. A policy resource guide will be forthcoming. A taxonomy of youth
activities has also been created as a supplement to this policy. There has also
been alignment between these programs and existing policies, licensing, and
guidance. ASEC expressed appreciation for the work that was put into these
policy revisions.
Business
· TTC
Appeals Process Discussion
ASEC
discussed considerations and issues around the TTC
appeals process. Concerns were expressed around the timelines for the different
steps of the process. Currently, there is a lack of clarity around how appeals
panels are constituted, and ASEC emphasized the need for individuals with
similar titles or job groups as the appellants. It is also important that any
title changes that result from the appeals process be retroactive to November 7
(e.g. a change in title resulting in a change of
minimum salary). Between now and when the appeals process begins, it is also
important to specify what materials people need to appeal and what to do if a
desired title is not in the library.
· Planning
Subcommittee Reports
There
were no updates from any of the subcommittees at this time.
This will continue to be a standing item on ASEC agendas on a
monthly basis.
· November
Assembly Planning
Jenny will move approval of the revisions
to the distinguished prefix guidelines, and Leslie will move approval of the
resolution on academic freedom.
Guest: Beth Meyerand, Vice Provost
for Faculty and Staff Affairs
Vice Provost Meyerand and ASEC discussed
equity concerns around the use of the research professor title across schools
and colleges. There are some perceptions that there are barriers making it
difficult for individuals to transition or promote into the title.
There is no update on the second
phase of the diversity curriculum at this time. Vice
Provost Meyerand did meet with the Alliance of Women Alzheimer’s Researchers in
Wisconsin to discuss concerns around hostile and intimidating behavior issues campus-wide.
Vice Provost Meyerand and Jake
discussed potential processes around more systematic supervisory training. The
first step will be to survey the types of training that already exist on campus
and determine what might be scalable. After that, a working group will be
constituted to come up with recommendations to the Office of the Provost.
ASEC brought forward the issue of
exit interviews for employees. The COACHE
(Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education) survey for faculty is
the only central process for this and is a survey that is managed by Harvard.
Some HR departments in schools/colleges/divisions do their own exit surveys,
and Vice Provost Meyerand will continue to look into
how this is done at a divisional level.
Guests: Mark Walters, Chief Human
Resources Office, and Karen Massetti-Moran, Director
of Total Rewards, Office of Human Resources
ASEC provided its thoughts to Mark
and Karen on the appeals process from the earlier discussion in the meeting.
For those with no appropriate title in the library, OHR is working through what
the process will be. In general, if an employee doesn’t find the correct title
in the system, the HR community will be expected to go to a separate survey
form to log those situations. OHR is building a process for reviewing these on a monthly basis and will implement necessary changes with
colleagues at UW Shared Services. If someone wins their appeal and they are
under the minimum of their new title, their updated salary will be retroactive
to November 7. The impacts to discretionary compensation funding are more
complicated, and OHR will be reviewing this. Employees will need documentation
such as their position vacancy listing or position description for their
appeal. OHR is working on the review panel process, though academic staff
governance will make its own decisions on subject matter expertise for their
appointees. It is likely that a substantial pool of staff will be needed to
serve on these panels.
ASEC provided feedback on the
release of the salary ranges and raised questions around comparisons of salary
grades between Madison, Milwaukee, and the other comprehensives. Grades 15-27
raised minima but not maxima, while salary grades above 27 show increases for
both compared to the comprehensives. UW-Madison started with $15.00
minimums for our grades and went up from there. There were also questions about
some positions (e.g. IT) where employees are above the
maxima of their ranges, but those numbers seem out of sync with the local
market. IT is high on the list for reevaluation.
General Reports
Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, reported on
a discussion of Wiscard access for non-traditional
and online students. The hope is that the process to obtain a Wiscard might be made easier for these students. Jake will
inquire with the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs regarding this issue. Tim
reported that a search for the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
will be going forward this academic year. He has also been fielding a number of questions related to TTC
and salary ranges, and there were 5 individuals at the most recent listening
session.
Jake Smith, Secretary of the
Academic Staff, went over the process for the special meeting on November 11
for nominations to the search and screen committee for the Chancellor position.
ASEC decided to cancel its meeting on December 30. Jake reported that the 2%
pay plan has been submitted to the Joint Committee on Employee Relations, who
will still need to approve it before it takes effect. ASEC has been asked for
feedback on whether the temporary reduced cost parking options policy from
Campus Transportation should continue. Lindsey Stoddard Cameron volunteered to
represent academic staff in the governance sessions for the Director of
Facilities Planning and Management finalist sessions.
Business
· December
Assembly Meeting Agenda
ASEC
reviewed an initial draft of the December agenda. Mark Walters and Karen Massetti-Moran will be invited to present on TTC.
· Topics
for Guests
Chancellor: top priorities as she
transitions out of her role, overall morale, TOP program status
Meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Jake Smith,
Secretary of the Academic Staff