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