July 2006

 

1:00-3:00 p.m., Notre Dame Room, LaFortune                                                                                                                                    

 

Present: Penny McIntire, Christy Miller, Sheila Breining, Frederick Sonneborn, Sharon Konopka, Diana Singleton, Kathy Stopczynski, Kevin Jones, Michael Huffer, Peggy VanKirk, Paul Hendershott, Linnie Caye, Kathy Troth, MaryEllen Fetherolf, George Young

Excused:  Maureen Marnocha, Lorie Marsh, Patricia Smith, Bobbi McMahon    

Unexcused: Jennifer Ihns, Joy Schosker, John Mackowicz

Visitors: None

HR Liaisons:  John Whelan

 

I. Call to Order

 

The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by Kathy Stopczynski.

 

II. Approval of the June 8th, 2006 Council Minutes 

 

With noted changes, Mike Huffer made a motion to approve and Christy Miller (second).

 

III. Committee Reports

 

Parking Appeals Committee

Kathy Stopczynski asked for volunteers.  Kevin Jones volunteered and Mike Huffer volunteered to be the back-up.

 

Promotions Committee

The Staff picnic went very well.  The new SAC shirts looked great.  The booth was informative and made an impact.  A letter of appreciation was sent to Alan Bigger for his donations of prizes for the SAC raffle.  Kathy Stoczynski said thank you to all who participated with the booth.

 

SAC will plan to have a booth at the Relay for Life this fall. 

 

Website Committee

The committee is looking into the possibility of setting up a comment section.  There was a request that if this is created that it be marketed to campus so that people would be aware of it.  Communication could include fliers, emails, ND Works, etc.  One concern about a comment section on the website is the potential volume of comments and the ability of a SAC member to respond to every one of them.  More research will be done.

 

Christy Miller is looking for others to help with the Website Committee so that they could take over if she were not re-elected to SAC. 

 

IV. Additional Business

 

Performance Reviews:  An open discussion was held about the ND performance review process so that a recommendation from SAC can be sent to Human Resources as they review the process.  The primary concern did not seem to focus on tools or the process, but rather the inconsistency in application of the process from supervisor to supervisor.  There is a general feeling that the current application of performance reviews and merit increases is arbitrary and not based on real merit.  Some SAC members have heard rumors that supervisors were ordered to not give any employees a rating higher than “Meets Expectations” during this last performance review cycle.  There is a general lack of confidence in the performance management process.

There is a lot of support by SAC that all performance reviews should be done at one point in time as opposed to the current practice which allows a supervisor do complete the review any time in the year as long as it is no longer than 12 months from the previous review.  SAC also feels that managers and supervisors should be held accountable, perhaps by withholding salary increases, for not completing performance reviews in a timely manner for all of their employees.

 

Next month, SAC will review the current performance review forms and make suggestions about possible changes.

 

CLAP:  The Campus Labor Action Project (CLAP) has responded to SAC’s request to meet.  They are scheduled to attend the September meeting.

Paychecks:  A question was asked about whether employees who do not have direct deposit can pick up their paychecks from the Payroll department.  The answer is that they cannot.  All checks will be mailed directly to employees’ homes. 

Employee Hotline:  A new employee hotline in the process of being implemented.  Several vendors are being considered.  No exact implementation date has been set, but it will likely be this fall.

Funeral Leave:  A SAC member asked why an employee receives 5 days of funeral leave when a step parent dies and only 3 days of leave when a sibling dies.  The policy considers immediate family to include spouses, children and parents and therefore provides the most days of possible funeral leave.  Step-parents and step-children are included in the immediate family category. 

SAC Minutes:  A question arose about attributing the names of individual SAC members to questions that are included in the SAC meeting minutes.  It was noted that this topic was addressed in the early formation of SAC and was universally rejected.  The belief is that SAC works as a group and that providing specific names to specific comments would discourage open participation.  It was determined that this practice would not change.

LaFortune Student Center:  A question was raised about why Tyrone Willingham’s photograph is not included among the photos of other coaches in the LaFortune Student Center.  The concern is that the reason has to do with his race.  SAC agreed to look into this by contacting Student Activities. 

InsideND:  A concern was expressed about the amount of personal information included on the new InsideND self-service website, especially the use of social security numbers.  This issue is currently being reviewed by the Payroll and Human Resources. 

Computer Training:  With the increased use of the internet to communicate and display information, a question was raised about whether more computer training should be available.  In response, some SAC members commented that there are a lot of computer classes available and even suspected that the individuals who need the training the most will not be likely to attend the training.  Other concerns had to do with taking the time away from work. 

V. Adjournment

 

With no further topics to discuss, Linnie Caye made a motion to adjourn.  The motion was seconded by Diana Singleton and passed.  The meeting adjourned at 2:32 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Human Resources 

 

 

Back to Top