THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSE AT CHATTANOGA

Exempt Staff Council Meeting

July 16, 2002

Lupton Library, Room 208

 

 

Members Attending: Debra Anderson, Debbie Bell, Allison Cardwell, Tom Ellis, Kimmerly Harrell, William Johnson, Ellen Neufeldt, Tonya Pace, Lindsay Pardue, Mike Royster, Charles Scott.

 

Others in attendance: Dan Webb, Director, Personnel Services; Melanie Sadler, Administrative Secretary, Personnel Services.

 

Call to Order: Ms. Anderson called the meeting to order.

 

Minutes: Motion was made and seconded to approve minutes of the June 18, 2002 meeting.

 

§         Summary of Executive Council Meeting

Ms. Anderson provided a summary of the Executive Council Meeting she recently attended. It was announced that UTC is the most well-endowed of any UT school due to the Lupton donations, construction of the Math, Science, and Computer Engineering building, and UTC’s partnership with downtown Chattanooga.

 

Survey results from “Advanced Connections,” a customer service program, were distributed and Ms. Anderson stated that the Chancellor was very encouraged by the results. Dean MacDougall and Ellen Neufeldt are responsible for implementing “Advanced Connections,”  since the departure of Tom Losh. Vice Chancellor  Brown pledged his support to the Modelnetics workshop and Ms. Anderson has proposed that the ESC attend Modelnetics and “Advanced Connections” the next time training is offered.

 

In an effort to enhance security on campus, every employee, including term employees, will be required to wear ID’s. Rekeying of all doors on campus has begun and access to buildings after hours will be limited to a single exterior door, though some interior doors may require card access. Operating hours for each building will be determined after a meeting with building occupants and security.

 

The cover of Bell South Yellow Pages will feature the entrance to Fletcher Hall. WDSI Television will highlight UTC during the 1st Sunday of each month; Chancellor Stacy and Yancy Freeman will be guests of the first program.

 

Ms. Anderson will continue to provide a summary of Executive Council meetings.

 

§         Compensation Issues

Ellen Neufeldt, Tom Ellis, Charles Scott, and Lindsay Pardue have agreed to serve on the compensation committee. 

 

Mr. Webb stated that Sylvia Davis, UT Vice President for Budget and Finance, is reviewing aspects of the UT compensation system. Four Task Force groups have been established for the following areas: Recruitment/Retention/Motivation, Performance Evaluation Methodologies, Bonus Incentive Plans, and Position Evaluations/Pay Structure. Mr. Webb is Chair of the Evaluations/Pay Structure committee and members are asked to contact him if they are willing to serve on a committee.

 

The state budget has been ratified with state employees receiving a 3% increase while those employed in education will receive a 2% increase. It was suggested that this item be submitted for discussion at the next University Budget meeting.

 

§         Hay Analysis

Exempt and non-exempt positions are rated using the Hay Analysis. At the request of the ESC, either Mr. Webb or a Knoxville representative will explain the Hay System and how it applies to UTC at a future meeting.

 

Staff positions on all UT campuses have been reviewed and evaluated by a UT System wide job audit committee. Evaluations for our campus will be submitted to division Vice Chancellors for review. Vice chancellors will disseminate position evaluations to  deans, directors and department heads for review.

 

§         Personnel Policies

Mr. Webb announced that Personnel Services is working to develop an orientation for term employees.

 

Revisions to the personnel policy relating to probationary period for new employees are awaiting approval in Knoxville.  The proposed revision would increase the initial evaluation period from 3 months to 6 months; in addition the new probationary policy will apply to exempt as well as non-exempt staff. 

 

A member asked if there is a policy regarding compensatory time for exempt staff who are required to work on holidays. Exempt staff are “exempt” from the overtime provisions of the FSLA and are not, therefore, required to be given additional compensation or comp time for hours worked over 40 in a week

 

A member inquired if discounts for dependents are viewed differently at UT and Board of Regents Schools. Mr. Webb will research this issue for the next meeting.

 

§         University Committees

Ms. Anderson distributed a list of standing University committees and will request the mission statement from each committee chair. Members expressed interest in having a representative serve on University committees. As ESC Chair, Ms. Anderson is allowed to serve on the University Budget Committee.

 

§         Exempt Staff Council Web Page

Debra Anderson and Bill Johnson met to discuss creating a web page. It will include the mission statement, by-laws, exempt staff and council representative, e-mail links to representatives, members of ESC sub-committees, and minutes of meetings, that will password-protected.

 

§         Summer Picnics

An outside source is being sought to fund one or two summer picnics. Ms. Anderson suggested that the ESC set up a booth at the picnic to inform exempt staff of the formation of the Exempt Staff Council.

 

§         Publicity Committee

Allison Cardwell and Debbie Bell will serve on the Publicity Committee.

 

§         Future Meetings

It was suggested that Dr. Gross attend a meeting to explain formula funding that THEC uses in funding higher education. Members are asked to recommend guest speakers for future meetings.

 

The Provost, Dr. John Friedl, will be the guest speaker at the September 17 meeting and Chancellor Stacy will speak at the October 15 meeting. Both meetings will begin at 11:00 a.m. in Lupton Library, Room 208. The Exempt Staff Council will not meet in August.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Melanie Sadler

Administrative Secretary

Personnel Services