Staff Senate Minutes
December 15, 2006
The Staff Senate met on December 15, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. in Reynolds 210. Senators in attendance were Brenda Garrett, Julia Stroebele, (as proxy for Dr. Roger Guevara), La’Tricia Davis, Houston Taylor, Diane Johnson, Pat King, Jill Bond, Kellye Ogle, Mary Hubbard, Beth Scroggins, Cledis Stuart, Art Horne, and Linda Smith.
Approval of Minutes
The meeting was called to order by President Houston Taylor. A motion to accept the minutes was made by La’Tricia Davis and seconded by Diane Johnson. The motion passed.
Old Business
A motion to remove from the table the discussion concerning the number of credit hours that a university staff member is allowed to take during a single semester was made by La’Tricia Davis. Second was made by Beth Scroggins. Houston read the following reply that had been received from Roger Giles:
“All the waivers (this past semester) were processed and those that had anything unusual, such as taking more than one course, were all reviewed by all the vice presidents and the president. Any waiver request that had more than one course had to have an explanation that documented that the course was being taken at the request of a supervisor for on the job training, or their work schedule permitted the taking. For instance, some individuals have work shifts other than the regular 8-5 workday. I thought that it was important for (the staff) to know that waivers receive careful analysis to insure that the policy is being followed.”
In other old business, Mary Hubbard will help with the special election to replace the position left vacant by the registration of Rebecca Chiles. Her term ends in 2008.
Committee Reports
Staff Awards Breakfast
Lynne Disotell and Gatha Edwards have agreed to co-chair the spring 2007 breakfast event.
New Business
The Staff Senate revisited the issue of Staff/Faculty tuition waivers. Currently some receive 100% tuition waivers while those employed after October 1993 receive only 80% tuition waiver. This 80% waiver has been increased gradually over the past few years from 50%. Currently, when an employee’s dependent attends classes, the student receives an 80% tuition waiver. If the student also receives other institutional aid, such an an Alumni scholarship, the portion of the waiver that is unused for expenses is refunded to the student. The Senate would like to encourage 100% waivers for all dependants of faculty/staff.
The following motion made by Kelly Ogle and seconded by Art Horne was approved by the whole senate: “The Southern Arkansas University Staff Senate recommends the elimination of institutional refunds generated from tuition waivers to facilitate funding of a 100% dependant tuition waiver.”
Other
There was no other business.
Adjournment
The motion to adjourn was made by Pat King and seconded by Diane Johnson. The next official Staff Senate Meeting will be February 14, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. in Reynolds 210.
