Staff Senate Minutes
May 12, 2004
The Staff Senate met May 12, 2004 at 2pm in the Library. Senate members in attendance included Gaye Calhoun, Rebecca Chiles, La’Tricia Davis, Mary Ann Hand, Charles Honza, Keli Honza, Sarah Jennings, Kellye Ogle, Beth Scroggins, Cledis Stuart, Peggy Walters, and David Wingfield.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order. There was a motion by Beth Scroggins to approve the minutes of the April 14th meeting with a second by Peggy Walters. Motion passed.
Unfinished Business
Frequency of Pay Dates
This issue was tabled until updated payroll guidelines are made available.
Taking classes during work hours/Tuition Waivers
At the April 14th meeting of the Staff Senate, a motion was passed to request an investigation into the use/misuse of the faculty/staff tuition waiver. Keli Honza sent a formal request to Dr. David Rankin for a review of all staff tuition waivers for staff members taking classes during their normal working hours for the Spring 2004 semester and requested a response with an explanation for exceptions by April 30th. See the question as it was posed that prompted the discussion and the response from Dr. Donna Allen, Vice President of Student Affairs below:
Question: Do you know if administration has ever addressed the issues about “some” student/staff being able to take more than one class per semester and “some” not being able to?
Response: The Vice Presidents’ Council reviewed the tuition waivers that were submitted for the Spring 2004 semester as requested. Upon analysis of the forms, there were 7 which someone could presume suspect. Of those 7, 3 of those with more than one class during the day have alternative shifts for their normal work hours. In addition, 2 were required to take a second course due to their supervisor requiring it for work improvement. The remaining 2 included 1 staff member who submitted two different forms with separate schedules on them unknown to the VP involved and 1 was overlooked by mistake. These last two have been investigated and we have been assured it will not occur again. Thank you for your interest in this. Please pass this on to the Staff Senate. Please let me know if you have any questions or concern.
Bathroom doors in Nelson
The plant is taking measurements and bathroom doors are going to be installed in Nelson.
Committee Reports
Hiring guidelines committee
Beth Scroggins reported that the committee had met and Mary Ann Hand is working on draft #5 of the hiring guidelines. Once the committee is satisfied with the changes they will bring the document before the Senate. The committee hopes to have a final draft ready by the end of the summer.
Staff Senate Elections Committee
Sarah Jennings reported that a special election would be conducted to fill the vacancy left by Tommy Slaughter. He will be retiring this summer.
SAU CLIP/Staff Performance Evaluation Recommendation
Keli Honza referred to the email Mr. Roger Giles, Vice President of Administration and Finance sent to all users on May 10th regarding staff performance evaluations. A new evaluation form will be used for non-classified staff and the existing form will be used for classified staff until a new form can receive approval through the Office of Personnel Management. The Continuing Education for Staff Committee is offering staff training on the evaluations on May 19. The staff self-evaluations are also being distributed. In order to receive an extension the supervisor must follow the guidelines set forth in the all users email from Mr. Giles. The administration is not going to be lineate with the extension policy.
Mary Ann Hand shared new information obtained by her office in regards to performing staff evaluations on the anniversary date of the employee. Staff evaluations do not have to be performed in the month of the employee’s anniversary but are required to be performed yearly. Therefore, all staff evaluations will be performed at the same time next year in June or July. The evaluation will be based on a fiscal year instead of the anniversary date. It will take some time to incorporate this into the normal routine for those departments who are already performing annual evaluations as required by the state. The Personnel office will assist anyone with issues regarding the change in dates. More guidelines are forthcoming from the Personnel office.
New Business
Staff Handbook
Mary Ann Hand stated that she needed to receive approval on the handbook changes before the back to school meetings. The complete handbook will need to be handed out instead of just the revisions because of numerous changes. The Senate is to review the document and make suggestions by the June meeting and vote on changes. The Senate members are also to consult their constituents for any questions/suggestions and send them to Sarah Jennings by June 3rd so she can list them in the agenda and they can be discussed at the June 9th meeting. Mary Ann Hand highlighted several of the changes. The first couple of pages list the changes that were made to the document. There is also a new header format with a summary of the changes along with the current revision number and date listed on the back page of the document.
Charles Honza questioned the career service policy as stated in the staff handbook under section 217 Career Service. Mr. Honza wondered if the policy was being followed as it was stated in the handbook. Mary Ann Hand said that if your anniversary date falls after the 15th of the month you would receive a career service check the next month because of the way payroll is processed. Mr. Honza suggested setting up a date in the payroll system for the checks to be printed and post date the check and hand the check out in the month that corresponded with the employees anniversary date. Kellye Ogle stated that this was not an option due to the way the payroll system was setup. Mary Ann Hand also brought up the issue of an employee who comes to work for the University who has also worked at another state institution. When this occurs, it changes their anniversary date.
Cledis Stuart stated that the Senate needed to find out more about the issue before making a motion. Everyone agreed. A suggestion was made to maybe look at stating it as a “hire” date instead of an “anniversary” date.
Mary Ann Hand agreed to check into this issue further and Charles Honza volunteered to assist her in this pursuit.
Charles Honza questioned the Leave without Pay guidelines in the handbook. Does the employee have to exhaust all leave before taking leave without pay? According to Mr. Honza the handbook does not state that the employee has to exhaust all leave before taking leave without pay. Mr. Honza has an employee whose leave was not exhausted and he was still docked for leave without pay.
A Staff Senate forum was suggested to better inform all staff of the changes in the handbook as soon as they are approved and distributed.
Sarah Jennings presented a question received from a staff member in regards to the paperwork involved in applying for catastrophic leave. The staff member wanted to request catastrophic leave but was wondering if the paperwork could be any easier or less cumbersome. The medical facility was slow in filling out the paperwork for the staff member. Mary Ann Hand stated that the paperwork served to provide the committee with enough information to make an informed decision. The paperwork is also required for proper documentation should an issue ever arise. The committee reviews all of the paperwork and circumstances leading up to the request and sends a recommendation to the President and final approval rests with him. A suggestion was made that Darrell Morrison, chair of the committee, be invited to speak at the next Staff Senate meeting.
New Senators and Officer Elections
Nominations commenced for new officers fulfilling positions including: Vice President, Secretary, and Faculty Senate Representative.
Vice President
Keli Honza nominated Beth Scroggins, Charles Honza seconded the motion. After no more nominations Peggy Walters made a motion that nomination cease, Cledis Stuart seconded the motion. None opposed. Motion passed.
Secretary
Gaye Calhoun nominated David Wingfield and Peggy Walters seconded the motion. David regretfully declined the nomination. Kellye Ogle nominated Gaye Calhoun and Keli Honza seconded the motion. Gaye regretfully declined the nomination. Vera Camp was nominated. None opposed. Motion passed.
Faculty Senate Representative
Beth Scroggins nominated Cledis Stuart and Peggy Walters seconded the motion. David Wingfield made a motion that nominations cease. La’Tricia Davis seconded. None opposed. Motion passed.
The positions were filled as follows:
Beth Scroggins – Vice President
Vera Camp – Secretary
Cledis Stuart – Faculty Senate Rep.
Adjournment
With no further business David Wingfield made a motion to adjourn. Beth Scroggins seconded the motion. Motion passed. Sarah Jennings adjourned the meeting at 3:30pm. The next meeting is June 9th at 2pm in Magale Library.
