EVPECC Council Minutes for October 18, 2007

Attendees:
Dawn Brennan, ITC
Loretta Cronk, President’s Office
Becky Davis, Athletics
Karen Downs, Bookstore/Cav Computers
Johanna Kessler-Sandridge, Student Affairs
Sarah McComb, Student Housing
Diddy Morris, Architect
Marc Patrouch, HR/ISDS/Risk Mgt.
Barbara Prettyman, Development
Anna Rugo, Business Operations
Reggie Steppe, Facilities Management
Betsy Thompson, Parking Operations
Shannon Wampler, Procurement Services
Sheila Williams, Printing and Copy Services

Beth Reinhard, HR ex officio
Kathleen Jump, EVP-COO, ex officio

Arlene Buynak, Alternate-Athletics
Krisztina Ujvagi-Roder, Alternate-Student Affairs

Council Business

Old Business:

  1. Approval of September meeting minutes
  2. Report from Executive Committee meeting was covered in report from Mr. Sandridge.

Updates:

            Beth Reinhard, HR:

  • Resource fair being held November 15th in Newcomb Hall Ballroom from 9:00 – 2:00.  New Employee Welcome from 9:00 – 9:30.  Employee Council will have a table at the fair, with representation from all Councils.
  • Time card changes have been implemented.  Email went out with information and power point to all timekeepers.  This does not affect the paper time card that employees fill out.
  • Getting more leave information on pay slips is a very customized process.  HR is currently looking into this, but it will take some time.
  • Will look into getting Community Service time listed on paper time cards.
  • It is not clear as to whether the UVA discounts available to the Health System staff are for all UVA employees.  HR is doing some more research on this and will let us know soon.

New Business:

  1. Anne Broccoli from HR-Benefits will be our guest speaker for the November 15th meeting.  She will discuss options for open enrollment.
  2. CVC Campaign Information from Sadie Simmons-Community Relations.
    • CVC Campaign kicked off Monday, October 15th.
    • This year’s theme is Giving Hope Within the Community.
    • There are roughly 1300 charities to give to this year.
    • Last year 3700 employees gave to CVC raising roughly $815,000.
    • 100% of your contributions designated to a specific charity go to that charity.  If you do not designate a charity, approximately 3% of your donation will be used to cover administrative costs, and the rest will be distributed proportionally to charities that receive designated funds. 
    • There is an online system to make donations using payroll deduction.  You can also fill out paper pledge forms, in the red envelopes, which should be returned to your department’s campaign volunteer coordinator. 
    • Check out the website at www.virginia.edu/cvc.
    • Call Community Relations with any questions at 924-1321 or email communityrelations@virginia.edu.

 

Guest Speaker

Leonard Sandridge, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Commission on the Future of the University:

  • Thanks to those who have been involved directly – Missy Brads, Diddy Morris, and others.  We have also received and considered an extraordinary number of suggestions through the web.  The committees have read all these comments and some suggestions have led to changes in the reports
  • You should expect to see a broad-based, overall report in the executive summary.
  • The report discusses the undergraduate experience, our commitment to science and technology, and an emphasis on international education for our students.
  • This is mostly an academic plan with a focus on identifying where our priorities will be going forward.  The plan will tell us what we need to do in terms of providing infrastructure – whether we are involved in housing, parking and transportation, the design of capital projects or the other areas that this council represents – the plan will tell us what we have to be able to support.
  • The objective is to have the report completed by the February board meeting.
  • We are going to try hard to make academic units set priorities.
  • We must recognize that at the same time this work is going on, Susan Carkeek is working on plans that involve everything from the HR perspective – from our educational programs to a new HR system that for University Staff employees.
  • In conclusion, the Commission report will give us direction, show that we are going into an exciting time.

 

Question & Answer:

  1. Why aren’t we told before we accept an offer of employment that a department doesn’t participate in Tuition Reimbursement/Assistance?

Under the current system, all departments participate in tuition reimbursement and tuition assistance in the sense that all are eligible to offer it if they can.  However, the programs are funded at the departmental level and different departments have varying ability to pay.  We are in the process of looking at other funding models to make educational benefits more accessible to everyone. 

  1. I would like to know if it's any truth in the rumor of the university offering a buy-out this year and if it is what will it be? The rumor is a 5 & 5 buy out by the state in December!

Mr. Sandridge has not heard any rumors about this offer.  We do not intend to reduce staff.  We may have vacant positions that departments hold open, but we are not enticing persons to leave the university.

  1. Is the University offering any type of retirement incentive for those employees at, or close to retirement?

No.  Answer similar to question # 2.

  1. Will administrative faculty positions transition to University Staff as with Classified positions?

To clarify, there is no transition from classified staff or professional staff to university staff.  If you are a classified employee, you must choose to become university staff.  It will not happen automatically.  And you must be offered this s option at least every two years.

As it relates to administrative and professional faculty (A&P), the plan that I believe Susan Carkeek will roll out and that I will hope she will roll out will encompass some of the positions that we now know as A&P faculty. Going forward, there is likely to be a category or categories in our continuum of employment where the distinction between what we know today a classified employee or administrative faculty employee will be less distinctive.  We have A&P faculty now because the state system does not offer the continuum without creating a different category.  We are likely to see the new HR system encompass the positions that you know today as A&P faculty.  But, again, the change will be optional for current A&P faculty.  

  1. In 10/02/07 edition of HeadlineNews@Virginia.EDU, the article UVa, PVCC Ready to Deal with Spending Reductions contains the statement: "The next largest trim of $2 million is savings from effectively managed health plan costs, she said."  Question: Is it correct to interpret the above statement to mean that a surplus from the health care plan contributions collected from UVa faculty, staff and students, was at least in part used to offset the funds cut from the Commonwealth's contribution to UVa's budget?

No.  It is true that last year and the year before we did not incur health care costs to the same degree that we contributed to the plan.  We dealt with that in several ways.  First, let me talk about the two different contributions to healthcare: the employee part and the employer part. About 80 cents (80%) of every dollar that you use in health care comes from tuition and state tax dollars (in other words, the employer contribution).   Employees pay 20 percent.  Our intention was that the $2 million came from that 80 percent. 

Next year, we project that health care costs are going to go up almost 10 percent, but the increases in employee contributions range from only $1 per month for a single person on the high premium plan, to a reduction in employee contribution for the low premium plan.  We have chosen that rather than give employees a refund, we are not charging the full amount in employee premiums that we are expecting health care costs to go up.  From an employee perspective, we have been able to hold health care premium increases for two years below the projected increases in healthcare costs.     

  1. According to the results of the HR Restructuring Survey, our benefits package is a real asset in the University's ability to attract and keep employees.  However, there is a serious issue regarding people losing time both at the end of the year and upon retirement.  For example, one employee who is retiring this year will lose over $20,000 worth of time/compensation because s/he was healthy and did not misuse sick time!  In addition, there are countless employees who find that their (applause-worthy) attendance has caused them to accumulate several weeks of use or lose time, but their work load prevents them taking that much time off.  It seems incredibly unfair that people are being penalized for having good attendance.  Can the Academic side of the University create a plan similar to that of the Health System which compensates staff members for use/lose time and annual/sick time that exceeds their predetermined carry-over limit?

 

The short version of that question is that under our system, if you are an employee who does not misuse sick leave you could be disadvantaged when you retire or change jobs.  That’s the current state system.  Under the new HR system, the university will be accountable for this.  This is an area that Susan Carkeek and HR are looking at closely.  HR will be looking for a fair and equitable way to reduce the penalty to good employees who at retirement or when they change jobs give up a lot.
         

  1. Improving morale: All administrative assistants who have been in a department for more than 25 years with equal and similar workloads need to be in the same pay band.  There are discrepancies among certain administrative assistants which deem unfair when everyone is doing the same job.  In the past, a person would have to be in a supervisory position to receive a pay band three, but in recent years, it appears, positions have been created, not with that in mind.  There are those who have many responsibilities and work for the same classification of employers, who are left behind in a pay band two and the department needs to upgrade these people to be fair across the board.  In reflection, a person who is thinking about retirement deserves to be upgraded to a pay band three to be equitable with their cohorts.  The University of Virginia, in my opinion, does not seem to be concerned enough with people’s morale.

I don’t know of any large employer who does not wrestle with this.  Still, we should work to change it.  As with many things, with restructuring and the new personnel system, we have an opportunity to make it better.  We have to have a structure that allows flexibility to recognize there are differences in the roles people play, but there should be a reasonable expectation for comparable pay if you hold a position in one area that is similar to a position in another area.   We are coming up with a means to look at employees in a certain pay ranges who hold comparable jobs – benchmark jobs.  Progress has been made in the past six months in moving people who are determined to be underpaid.  Across the vice presidential areas, I have seen a lot of attention given to people who are in a lower category.  The fix will not be instant, but over a period of three years I believe we will see a big difference. The president and vice presidents are focused on this, and I recognize that it is important and has a lot to do with employee morale.   

  1. How many airplanes does the university operate, who gets to use them, and for what?

The University has one airplane primarily used for development activities.  It can carry up to 7 passengers.  Once an institution owns an airplane, the financial analysis is whether it costs more for a group to travel commercially – considering the cost of airfare and overnight stays for several persons.  The use of our plane is watched very carefully, and it is being used to benefit the University.  It cannot be used for personal purposes.  P&T website lists the rental rates.

  1. A childcare survey was sent out several months ago.  What were the findings?

There were 1770 responses to the childcare survey. Survey results indicated a strong interest by faculty and staff for additional childcare, especially for infants and toddlers.  At this time the University is waiting for a proposal from Knowledge Learning Corporation to submit a proposal to us to provide additional childcare.   I think they do a good job based on the feedback we have received and the best quality control is parents.

  1. What is the University doing to encourage car pooling?

We need to do more in the sense that we all complain about the cost of parking fees, but we are not at the point where most persons are ready to give up the flexibility of their car to join a carpool.   I foresee reduced or free parking for carpools at the University.  I think you will see preferred parking for carpoolers.  To get serious about it – and we are going to get serious about it – we will probably need to manage the carpooling activity in-house.  For employees to be willing to carpool, you will need to be assured that you will have a way to leave your job in the case of an emergency. We know that more people want to park close to their buildings, but at the same time the really convenient parking lots are being taken up by buildings.  We are committed to providing transit options.

  1. Do you think there will ever be an equitable solution to the cost of employee parking?

We will always strive to have a good resolution, but I doubt we will ever get to the place where everyone thinks it is equitable or sufficient. It is never going to be free in the state of Virginia because we have to show that we can cover the cost of parking.   We have found ways to offset some of the costs, such as requiring Athletics to pay for every space it builds.  In addition, P&T collects some revenue from cars that park at football games and Arena events.

  1. What is going to happen to those employees parking in the Curry School parking lots once construction begins for the addition to the Curry School of Education?

P&T has a process that it follows to meet the priorities of departments impacted by relocation.   There are 50 permit holders involved.  About half are in the Curry school.  The other half is split between Provost and Student Affairs. 
P&T identifies options where permit holders can go, and asks permit holders to choose their preferences.  The closest options for those permit holders are the Dell lot and the lot at Bonnycastle.  Next option is the E3 lot off Whitehead Rd.  P&T will also be able to offer the Arts Grounds Garage and Emmett/Ivy garage.  There will be spaces in a range of proximity and a range of prices. 

  1. Several of the Student Health employees have been displaced to the E3 lot at the stadium since the B1 lot was closed.  With winter coming, would P & T be willing to add an additional stop on the Stadium/Hospital Shuttle route?  Maybe at the corner of Stadium & Whitehead roads?

Permit holders in the E3 lot could park in the southernmost end of E3 lot and walk about 100 feet to the bus stop on George Welch Way.  It is difficult to add stops to the Express route because the bus is often filled at the first destination and is designed not to stop.  Employees can get on the first stop at George Welch Way.

  1. This morning one of our nurses who now parks in University Hall was told that she had to be out of the lot early because of the Bob Dylan concert. She even called P & T and told them that she worked here til 5pm, and she was told that her car would be towed if it was not moved. When we parked in the B1 lot, we were able to make plans to get hang tags etc because we were a medical department, and had patients to care for. Now we don't have an option like this anymore.  And, no one advised us early that an alternate spot was available to folks who park there, where they could stay late. I now need to let this nurse leave work early, so that she is not towed. Patient care is compromised, without any means to replace her on short notice.

With your permit, you can park in the Ivy/Emmet parking garage.  The Ivy/Emmett parking garage is available to employees for these types of situations.  On event days, the gates open at 5:45 am and remain open until 1:00 am the next morning.  The Parking & Transportation website has a calendar of events showing which lots will be affected so people can check ahead of time.  P&T is also looking into having an email notification system alerting employees of changes in parking.

  1. There has been quite a bit of angst expressed about the loss of uva-want-ads due to the retirement of usenet. Would it be possible for this service/benefit to be picked up by the Office of Student Affairs, Human Resources, or another office?
  2. What is the rationale of getting rid of the UVA want ads?  These should be kept as a newsgroup.           

The UVA want ads are part of usenet, which will be shut down after exams at the end of this year.  Usenet was started in the 1980s, predates the web, and is not an efficient expense for IT to maintain.  A site similar to UVa. want ads feature will likely be hosted on Collab. This option should provide users with what they want -- a safe forum for exchange of goods and information for members of the university community.  

  1. Is there any maximum percentage for the number of out-of-state first year students offered admission or admitted that UVa would be willing to accept?

In Virginia, there is no statutory cap on out-of-state students attending the University; however, the Appropriations Act states that the university cannot reduce the percentage of Virginians below the percentage that has been admitted in recent years.  In other words, because we have had a ratio of nearly 2/3 instate and 1/3 out of state for several years, we are required to maintain at least 62-63% of undergraduates from Virginia.  The total number of Virginians admitted each year will go up because our student numbers are getting larger.  

18.  [Question 18 has been abridged]: All Housing employees are forced to attend the       Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign kick off campaign at Newcomb on Oct. 15.       I do not feel that we should be forced to attend this event.
The CVC campaign is voluntary, as is attendance at all activities related to the charitable campaign.  In this case, Housing issued a follow-up statement clarifying that attendance was not mandatory. 

 

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th, at 1:30 pm in Conf Room A of 400 Ray C. Hunt Drive.