Washburn.edu

Staff Council Minutes
September 13, 2011
Present: Lynn Bailey(Chair), Mary Kay Thornburg, Lou Olsen, Donna Lacey, Curtis Von Lintel, Dan Schmidt, Marcia Lessenden, Jackie Askren, and Jenith Hoover (alt.) Lynn Bailey called the meeting to order. Fall 2011 student enrollment was flat, but in line with fall 2010. Freshmen enrollment increased by 5-6%’, however, the graduation rate is down. School of Law enrollment was down slightly but not considered a problem. Through the Collective Bargaining Unit, the University will increase wages for custodians and laborers. This group was identified as being 25%’ below the area standard entry rate. With this change a concession of “enforceable discipline” was added to this contract. Enforceable discipline refers to possible consequences from the University for employees as per the “Employee Handbook”. The work on the Petro Parking lot did not begin until July 1st due to budgetary reasons. The job was awarded to the lowest bidder and there was no incentive for early completion. The job is expected to be 2/3 complete by next Thursday, September 22nd. The work on the rest of the parking lot will start after May 2012 graduation. The parking lot north of the School of Law has a possible start date of May 2012 as well. Washburn Tech has an agreement with the Mars Candy Company to prepare 130 trade workers. They need to be ready within (1) year to 18 months for employment at Mars. A meeting is scheduled for October with Washburn Tech in regard to students beginning their education (Associates of Arts degree) at Washburn Tech with eventual completion of a bachelor degree at the University. The employee Health care proposal has been sent to the President for his approval. There is a 7% rate increase purposed by BCBS ($600,000.00). There was discussion of possible savings program: 1. Blue Cross Blue Shield Utilization Management Program could have a potential of savings of  $80,000.00 – stresses use of generic drugs.  Brand name drugs like (Nexium and Claritin, etc.)  would no longer be an option unless paid out of pocket at the higher provider rate by the policyholder.  To aid in the transition to this program, this proposal will start January 2012. This will give the employee’s time to visit with their health care teams to help them move towards generic equivalents. 2. Encourage employees to review “summary of claims” information on their billing and visit with their pharmacist/physician to clarify/resolve questions and issues. After the President approves the proposal, it will be forwarded to the Board of Regents at the September meeting. A. Safety Committee – Lynn asked for a volunteer to serve on the Safety Committee. There was a motion and second to defer the issue to our October meeting. The motion passed. B. CIO/Director of ISS Candidates – The search committee will meet tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. The committee received over 100 applications in the current round of recruitment for this position. Twenty four were identified as prime applicants and was narrowed to six for reference checks. All final candidate interviews will be “Skype” by the committee. The final two or 3 candidates will be invited to campus. This is a crucial hire for the University and all employees should consider participating in open sessions as invited. With completion of the University website renovation, all University logos will be the same for all units. The new website will be easier to navigate and more user-friendly. A. Nomination Committee – Lynn noted the following Staff Council areas that are in rotation replacement: Administrative B, D, F Hourly B, D, F, H, J, K Self-nomination forms were sent out September 1st. Election forms were sent last Thursday. Lou Olsen and Lynn will count the nomination ballots which are due on Friday. Currently, a candidate has not been identified for only one area; Administrative D. B. University Email Policy – What is the policy for using the University email system for buying, selling, or renting personal items? Use of University email system is not an appropriate advertising venue for personal gain. All mass Faculty and Staff email can be explained in the following link http://www.washburn.edu/iss/docs/masscommunication.pdf. This document was last updated 8/9/2006. Student emails must be submitted to University Relations before they are sent out as official Washburn University communication. C.School of Law Parking Lot – Are employees of the Washburn Foundation allowed to park in the restricted lots at the School of Law? Lynn will find out what the policy is for Foundation employees. The next Staff Council meeting is October 18, 2011 at 3 p.m. in the Lincoln Room. Dr. Farley will attend the meeting along with the new and departing members. The new Chair of Staff Council will decide times/dates of future meetings.

Source: http://www.washburn.edu/faculty-staff/staff-council/files/minutes.091311.pdf