Rumor Mill Report February 10, 2015
Below are answers to many of the questions asked and answered at the Staff Council's Rumor Mill Session with the President's Cabinet on Feb. 10, 2015.
BENEFITS & COMPENSATION
Q. Is there a process for staff/faculty to be included in Jan Term travel courses?
A. There are currently two ways a faculty or staff member might accompany a Jan Term travel course for which they have no teaching responsibility. The first option is to accompany a Jan Term travel course as a guest (also called “accompanying adult”), as approved by the course instructor. In this case, the traveler pays the course fee to cover their expenses. Staff members who have gone on Jan Term courses as accompanying adults have identified this time away as vacation time. The second option is to audit the course. The process is similar to auditing an on-campus class: the person would enroll in the course and pay both audit fee and the full course fee. When employees audit, the audit fee would be covered by tuition remission, but they would be responsible for the course fee and for taking the time off of work with their supervisor’s approval.
The Office of Mission has also created opportunities for staff and faculty to have immersion experiences during January. These, however, are not part of January Term.
Q. Is there a Wellness Program?
A. Yes, the College has a Wellness Initiative that has been in development for several months. The first component that the College community has seen is a campus-wide interest survey (currently open) to all staff and faculty to assess interests and priorities. The Wellness Initiative is working under the oversight and advice of the Employee Benefits Advisory Committee (EBAC), a standing group consisting of members of the Faculty Welfare Committee, the Staff Council’s Compensation and Benefits Committee, and Human Resources. Once the interest survey results are reviewed, next steps will be to develop a specific plan of activities for the College community as well as a broad based educational program.
Q. Has the College considered a distribution or health care reimbursement for staff that opted- out of SMC benefits?
A. Yes, the EBAC and the College’s benefits consultant have periodically considered such an option, but have concluded that it went against one of the basic tenets of the College’s employee benefits program, which is risk sharing. By not providing incentives for employees to drop coverage, we all benefit by keeping the average cost lower. The current regulatory and compliance environment also has made it difficult to offer such an option.
Q. Can you define/talk about the staff recognition?
A. The Human Resources Department has established a staff recognition taskforce composed of representatives from across the campus including members of the Staff Council. See the September 8, 2014 Campus Bulletin for information on Task Force goals and membership. To date, the task force has identified some preliminary recommendations, which will be reviewed in consultation with the Staff Council and eventually communicated in the Campus Bulletin and other venues.
Q. What does the $1 million reduction target in overall staff salary expenditures for FY 2015-2016 mean?
A. The $1 million reduction in staff salary expenditures will be accomplished primarily from the management of vacant staff positions using a workforce planning model. The workforce planning model will review and assess all vacant staff positions for alignment with the priorities established in the soon-to-be-released institutional strategic plan.
It should be noted that there were over 100 vacant staff positions over the course of the last fiscal year. These vacant positions represented annual salaries of over $5 million.
Q. Will there be a base increase in staff salaries for FY 2015-2016?
A. Yes, the FY 2015-2016 operating budget has a provision for base salary increases. The size of the increase will be announced in May after a compensation market analysis is updated.
Q. Why was there a difference in the level of detail provided about staff and faculty salaries in the FY 2015-2016 budget message in the Campus Bulletin?
A. Any difference in the level of detail provided was not intentional.
ENGAGEMENT
Q. Is there any talk about faculty and staff to work together versus always separate?
A. The College’s staff and faculty work together for the benefit of its students. The College’s community is animated by the Lasallian heritage of shared mission––Brothers and partners, staff and faculty––all contribute to the quality educational experiences of our students. Some educate in the classroom, others through co-curricular offerings, yet others in service (e.g., Registrar, HR, Business, Legal, ITS, etc.).
There are many opportunities for faculty and staff to engage with one another in our educational enterprise. Staff and faculty work together in governance on the College Committee on Inclusive Excellence (CCIE), on the Deans and Directors Committee, and in places such as the Office of Mission. Faculty and staff also share opportunities for learning professional development and service, such as sabbatical presentations, book talks, lectures, performances, athletic events, course attendance, Soup and Substance, immersion experiences and retreats (e.g., Buttimer Institute of Lasallian Studies, Lasallian Social Justice Institute (LSJI), Vandu Paaru Immersions, annual Rummery Retreats), Mass of the Holy Spirit, Cultural Celebrations and Commencements. Finally, joint listening sessions have been co-sponsored by Staff Council and the Academic Senate.
Q. I have heard a rumor there will be a staff hiring freeze as a result of the establishment of new assistant vice president/provost positions?
A. There is no staff hiring freeze. As noted previously, there will be a workforce planning effort undertaken that will assess and review vacant staff positions for alignment with strategic plan priorities.
Q. Is there a status update on the process to evaluate our supervisors?
A. The Human Resources Department is looking into various strategies to provide evaluations of supervision in addition to our GaelPERFORM Performance Review on-line tool. Examples of these strategies include 360-degree feedback evaluations, department engagement surveys and other methodologies for providing anonymous developmental feedback for supervisors and directors.
UNIONIZATION
Q. What does the unionization of contingent faculty mean for staff including additional work?
A. Academic Affairs staff, in particular, and other offices will need to gather documents and prepare data and other information to exchange with the union as part of the collective bargaining process. This is part of our obligation to bargain in good faith and will help to ensure that the bargaining teams have the best data when making decisions both in bargaining and as part of the ongoing College and union interaction.
Q. Will there be training for staff on how to work with contingent faculty; especially after they enter into a collective bargaining agreement with the College?
A. The College will provide training as necessary.
Q. What are the other things that will change with a collective bargaining agreement with the contingent faculty?
A. There is no way to know this until a collective bargaining agreement is reached.
Q. Are planned reductions in budgeted expenditures related to the unionization of contingent faculty?
A. No, the budgeted expenditures represent reallocation targets that aim to align all expenditures with strategic plan objectives. The strategic planning process began over a year ago and the reallocation is a result of this ongoing strategic planning process.
CAMPUS FACILITIES
Q. What is the status of the new Library and Learning Commons?
A. The College has raised $1.2 million to date for the Library and Learning Commons facility. The focus over the past few months was directed toward finalizing funding for the Alioto Recreation Center. Efforts are still underway to identify new sources of potential funding for the facility. A development committee is being formed and led by select members of the Board of Regents and other key advocates. A prospect list has been developed and continues to be refined.
Q. Are there discussions of having bike lockers on campus?
A. Yes, additional bicycle racks are part of the College’s parking management plan with the Town of Moraga. Bicycle lockers will be considered as one type of bicycle rack that could be offered.
Q. Has the College developed a water conservation plan in response to the current drought?
A. Yes, the College has taken steps to reduce its use of water in landscaping and athletic fields. Additional conservation steps are also being planned.
Q. Is there a plan to add more student housing on campus?
A. Yes, the institutional strategic plan includes the intent to pursue additional on- and off-campus student housing as well as to renovate current student housing stock.
PARKING
Q. What is the status of the College’s Parking Plan and proposed parking fees?
A. The College’s parking management plan was submitted to the Town of Moraga in 2012 as part of the Town’s approval of the Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center. It includes the imposition of a parking fee in conjunction with the construction of a parking deck to be located above the large commuter parking lot at the front of the campus. The parking deck will provide parking capacity to offset parking spaces that will be lost to the construction of the new Library and Learning Commons and to expand capacity to make parking on campus more efficient. The parking fees will be used to offset the cost of constructing and maintaining the parking deck and to fund transportation demand management strategies such as public transit subsidies, car and/or van pooling, and car sharing programs. The purpose of transportation demand management strategies is to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicles coming to campus, which will benefit local roadways, the environment and the availability of parking on campus.
Construction of the parking deck will commence no earlier than June 2016. The parking fee would therefore be imposed no earlier than July 2016.
Q. Is a sliding scale (based on salary) and/or pro-rated fee schedule being considered for parking fees?
A. The recent Staff Council survey on parking fees included several suggestions for a parking fee structure based on salary. These suggestions will be reviewed with the Campus Facility Planning Committee and considered when the final fee schedule is being developed.
Q. What will be the cost of the parking fees?
A. As noted earlier, the parking fee structure will be developed to offset the cost of constructing and maintain the parking deck and to provide funding for transportation demand management strategies. Although final plans are still in the early stages of development, parking fees are not expected to exceed $200 to $300 per year.
Q. Where will parking be while the new parking structure is being built?
A. Although plans are not yet finalized, construction of the parking deck will be staged to minimize disruption of existing areas.
JOSEPH L. ALIOTO RECREATION CENTER
Q. When will the Alioto Recreation Center open?
A. The Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center is set to open during spring 2015 with a formal dedication ceremony scheduled for March 12. The Center is expected to open prior to March 12 and that date, when confirmed, will be communicated to the campus community.
Q. What type of equipment and programs will be available?
A. There will be state-of-the-art equipment provided and there will be more than 600 classes offered through the “Fitness on Demand” program as well as courses facilitated by Campus Recreation Student Leaders. Classes will be held on a drop-in or scheduled basis. Additional details about equipment and programs will be provided when the Center opens.
Q. Will there be additional fees beyond membership fees for certain types of programs offered?
A. No, not at this time.
Q. What will happen to the Madigan Pool once the Alioto Recreation Center opens?
A. The Madigan Pool will be decommissioned once the Alioto Recreation Center is opened. Longer-term, Madigan Pool will be a building site for a future academic building. Shorter-term, it is likely to become a sand volleyball court.
COLLEGE FINANCIAL STATUS
Q. How will the College fund new faculty and staff positions in the future?
A. As noted previously, the College will fund new positions that are aligned with the strategic plan through workforce planning. In addition, budget projections for future years include funding for the implementation of the strategic plan.
Q. What is the status of student enrollment now and in the year ahead?
A. As of February 13th, 2,694 traditional undergraduate students were registered for the 2015 spring term. Final registration numbers will be available at the end of February. At this point, admission numbers for fall 2015 are tracking to meet the new student goals. Overall undergraduate enrollment for fall 2015 is forecasted to be flat compared to fall 2014 due to recent larger graduating classes and lower first-year enrollment for the fall 2014 class.
Q. What level of tuition increases are planned in the year ahead?
A. Undergraduate tuition will increase by 3.75% in FY 2015-2016 with non-athletic student financial aid expected to increase by 7.5%.
PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS
Q. Are graduate students eligible to use the Counseling and Psychological Services Center and what other resources/services are available to graduate and professional students?
A. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) was granted strategic initiative funds to hire an additional staff psychologist so the department could expand their services to graduate and professional students. The director, Dai To, is working with Vice Provost Chris Sindt to get a better idea of when and what they seek for their counseling services. The service will be fully open to graduate and professional students in fall 2015 (a correction to information provided at the Staff Council Rumor Mill session) when we will not only have a new staff psychologist but also a space in which they can meet with students.
In the meantime, however, CAPS staff do see graduate and professional students who urgently need the support of counseling. For example, if you become aware of a graduate student who is in the midst of a personal crisis or urgent need to meet with a therapist, please do not hesitate to call CAPS (631-4364) and connect them to the student. And CAPS also does have counseling referral information for longer term counseling resources in the area.
Lastly, there will be a more formal announcement to graduate and professional students with the launch of the expanded service that will include hours and location.