THE
Exempt Staff Council Meeting
Fortwood Room,
Members Attending: Nancy Amberson, Becky Bell,
Tonya Botts, Jim Bowman, Jean Dake, Jan Gould, Ellen
Neufeldt, Nate Pinkard, Matt Pope, Charles Scott, Janet Spraker.
Others in attendance: Nancy Owens, Associate Director, Office of Human
Resources; Melanie Sadler, Administrative Secretary, Office of Human Resources.
Call to Order:
Ms. Dake called the meeting to order.
Minutes: Motion was made and seconded to approve minutes of the
Executive Council
Meeting
Ms. Dake attended the
Chancellor’s Executive Council meeting on June 14. Housing reservations are 80%
full, with 83% on campus and 70% at
A 3% pay increase for staff and faculty will become effective July 1, with 2% funded by the state and 1% by UT. Employees earning less than $25,000 will receive a $750 increase. A one-time bonus of $70/year of state service, with a minimum of $210 and maximum of $1750, will occur on or about October 1. The state is in the process of determining the cut-off date for the bonus, according to Ms. Owens.
Employee Relations
Advisory Board Meeting
The Employee Relations
Advisory Board met June 8 in
Marge Fergason, ERC Chair, asked for a 37.5/hour workweek to bring UT in line with state offices. Dr. Johnson remained somewhat neutral to the request and Ms. Sylvia Davis said that, if granted, accrual rates for leave would be reduced to 7.5 hours/month. The state implemented a shorter workweek in lieu of pay increases many years ago.
Ms. Fergason requested a true 50% fee discount for dependents stating that the Board of Regents gives a true 50% on all fees. Dependents attending UT receive a 50% discount on maintenance fees only. Senior-level administrators said they would view the number of dependent fee waivers currently being used and study the issue. Departments are charged back for fee waivers on some campuses, while UTC made a decision several years ago to pay waivers from a pool of money, except for employees paid from a grant, according to Ms. Owens.
The UT Board of Trustees
has decided to invite an ERAB member to attend meetings and a
Website Update (http://www.utc.edu/Administration/ExemptStaffCouncil/
)
Ms. Dake will write an
introduction for the website and Mr. Bowman will post approved minutes, revised
by-laws, new members and new representational groups and establish a
distribution list for internal use. Mr. Scott will photograph members at the
July meeting and photos will be posted with the member’s name, department, and
email address.
Other Issues
§
A local union
continues to picket outside of the Arena protesting the award of a contract at
UTC. The contract was awarded following state guidelines and picketers have
been encouraged to contact
§
THEC has
recommended a 7% tuition increase this fall. THEC has also recommended changing
UTC’s peer institutions and imposing a cap on enrollment of freshman students.
No state funds would be granted for freshman students exceeding the number
specified by THEC.
§
An athletics fee
was approved by the SGA but defeated 3-to-1 in a student vote. The Chancellor
will not ask for the fee to be enacted this year.
§
A department
questioned if they could sell surplus and keep the funds. Mr. Scott responded
that in some cases it had been done on the
Future ESC Meetings
Suggested speakers for future meetings were Chancellor Stacy, Dr. Gruetzemacher, and the Vice Chancellor for Student Development replacing Dean MacDougall. Ms. Spraker will present an update on Capital Projects at the July 20 meeting.
Ms. Dake asked members to
contact those they represent 7-10 days before the meeting to ask for concerns.
The ESC meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month, except August, at
Motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melanie Sadler
Administrative Secretary
Office of Human Resources