Academic Staff
Representatives Council Meeting
March 16, 2006
Draft Procedures on Faculty
Discipline Process (Proposed UWS 7)
UW
System legal counsel Pat Brady discussed the proposed UWS 7. She said it is to
address three issues: the need for a speedier process for discipline; a way for
not paying individuals when they are incarcerated (suspension without pay); and
spelling out what behaviors would be covered by the new policy. Brady said that
the Provost was named as the person to pursue the investigation because the
Chancellor is the one who can terminate employment. It would give the
appearance of lack of fairness if the Chancellor brought the charges against
the accused faculty member, investigated the charges, and then decided to
terminate the individual’s employment. The Provost is the one who does deal
with unclassified personnel at campuses. Faculty groups have suggested that the
Provost work with selected governance groups in investigating charges. Brady
said that Provosts applying the proposed UWS 7 would receive legal advice.
In
answer to questions from our group, Brady said that other state employees are
terminated first and then grieve their termination. Brady said the Board of
Regents committee writing the draft of the proposed UWS 7 decided to focus on
class A felonies as crimes covered by this policy. She
pointed out that bad behavior that is not a class A
felony will follow the regular process already in the personnel rules.
The
impact of the next draft disciplinary process will be on indefinite academic
staff. Because fixed term and probationary academic staff do not have the same
rights, the issues of timeliness of suspension from employment and of paying
someone who has been convicted are not issues. Under existing personnel rules,
indefinite academic staff could be terminated within 60-90 days because the
Chancellor can make that decision at the campus level. (The Board of Regents
makes the final decision to dismiss tenured faculty and the faculty member’s
salary-under UWS 4-continues until the Board makes its decision as to
dismissal).
Update on Human Resources
Issues
Al Crist reported that there will be no further discussion of
a uniform policy on limited titles until the LAB audit has finished. Right now
campuses can request exceptions to the current policies on which titles are
limited titles but on a case by case basis.
Because the WSEU contract was approved, some additional money is available for
unclassified salaries. More information will follow.
A
representative raised the issue of pay plan raises for instructional academic
staff whose contracts contain the words “no intent to renew”. At one
institution those IAS who were rehired, to teach the same classes as before, as
they have been year after year, were not given the solid performance pay plan
dollars last year in their contracts. Al Crist said
that the pay plan dollars are based on the previous October pay roll (if you
have ever wondered a percentage of what when a 2% pay raise is announced). Thus
those IAS who are employed in October are having their salaries counted as part
of the total payroll and they are being counted as part of the base. If
they are not given the solid performance raise, then their salaries are
contributing to funding raises for others, but they are getting no benefit for their
hard work.
Growth Agenda
Campuses have been asked for their ideas about how they might participate in
President Reilly’s growth agenda. La Crosse presented a proposal at the last
Board of Regents meeting and Green Bay will present its proposal at the April
meeting.
ASPRO
Assembly bill 1120 is in committee but the proposal is that state employees
could pay for long term care insurance using accrued sick days upon retirement.
Right now one can only use those days to pay for health insurance.
Respectfully submitted,
Judy Blackstone, Academic
Staff Representative