Council of Academic Professionals 

Thursday, May 4, 2017, Illini Union Ballroom 

Meeting Minutes submitted by Chantelle Thompson 

 

Attendees:  Jeff Stein (11 – Chair), Rich Gegg (1), Kristina Miller (1), Jenny Ehrnthaller (2), Amy Hovious (2), Shawna Naidu (3), Andrew Reynolds (4), Rick Atterberry (5), Elizabeth Wahle (6), Betoel Escobar (7), Richard Stokes (9), Ravi Ramrattan (10), Todd Spinner (3), Chantelle Thompson (8), Tanisha King-Taylor (7), Deborah Stone (AHR) for Elyne Cole (Provost/VCAA Admin – ex-officio) 

 

1.Call to Order – Chair Jeff Stein called the (recorded) meeting to order at 1:20 p.m.   

 

2.Guest Speakers – Katie Ross (UA HR Benefits) and Mark McGiles (UA Payroll and Benefits) 

Katie and Mark reported on the following items: 

• AFSCME Collective Bargaining and Litigation Update 

• Negotiations began early 2015 
• December 2016 impasse declared 
• April 3, 2017  – Motion for an accelerated process denied, the state must progress through normal judicial processes 

• The negotiations will continue (length of time undetermined) 

• Current impact to employees: None at this time 

• There are no major changes to benefits (offerings from the previous year remain) 
• Health plan benefits may be subject to change pending the outcome of the negotiations. This could result in a second Benefit Choice enrollment period. View the State of Illinois Benefit Choice booklet for more information. (Login may be required.) 

• Benefit Choice – Enrollment period May 1 through May 31, 2017 at 11:59 pm CT
  (Effective date for any changes: July 1, 2017) 

• Visit the CMS Marketplace at https://mybenefits.illinois.gov to enroll or make changes to your benefits (NOTE: State Plan benefit selections and changes are no longer processed through NESSIE. You must visit the CMS Marketplace to manage your State Plan benefits.) 
• View the attached PowerPoint presentation for additional Benefit Choice details as well as selection/modification instructions. 
• Important points: 

• All of an employee’s pervious State Plan benefit selections have been copied into the CMS Marketplace. 
• Management of Medical Reimbursement Plan (MCAP/DCAP) selections are performed in the CMS Marketplace, not NESSIE. 
• If an employee does not wish to make any changes to their State Plan benefit selections, they needn’t perform any action. 
• It is strongly encouraged that employees review their benefit profile within CMS Marketplace even if they do not wish to make changes to their benefit selections to assure their information was copied accurately from NESSIE. 
• If an employee was previously a Coventry subscriber, their information has automatically been sent to Aetna. 
• Supplemental Long-term Disability coverage is not managed in the CMS Marketplace since it is a University benefit. To make changes to your coverage, or to enroll, please visit NESSIE. An employee may enroll for this coverage at any time throughout the year. 
• Need help? 

• MyBenefits Marketplace Service Center
  (844) 251-1777 or TDD/TTY (844) 251-1778
  8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT Monday through Friday 
• University Payroll & Benefits (UPB)
  (217) 265-6363
  Email: benefits@uillinois.edu 
• Retroactive Benefit Premiums 

• Last year’s Benefit Choice materials indicated the State of Illinois could collect increases to insurance premiums retroactively (back to July 2016) if the litigation favored the State. 
• This year’s Benefit Choice enrollment materials do not included that statement. UA HR Benefits does not believe that the State intends to collect any future increases in premiums retroactively. 
• The University opposes this proposal and will continue to monitor the situation. 

• Claim Payment Delays 

• Without a State of Illinois budget, CMS cannot pay claims using state funds. 
• The State releases one week of claims every other week, with payment being made from employee premiums. View the payment release schedule. 

• If you have problems or questions related to this payment delay,  

• First contact your insurance company, 
  if not resolved, contact CMS at CMS.WebsiteBenefits@illinois.gov or (800) 442-1300, selecting 1 at the first three prompts 
• For inquiries regarding delay on dental claims: (844) 350-4432 

 

3.Public comments – None. 

 

4.Review and Approval Previous Month’s Minutes – Approved by consensus. 

 

5.Chair’s Comments 

• The CAP Chair will present a draft of the CAP annual report at the next meeting. 
• CAP is seeking speaker requests for the next academic year. Please send requests to Jeff Stein (jastein@illinois.edu). 
• The CAP Chair shared that Dr. Ken Ballom has been named Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. 
• The CAP Chair shared that the External Review Report and Recommendations on Diversity and Inclusion has been released. The full external review report is available at chancellor.illinois.edu by clicking on the “diversity review” tab. 
• Kristina Miller will chair the CAPE Awards, and we are looking for a vice-chair of the CAPE awards.  The CAP Chair and Vice will be elected at the June meeting. 
• CAP is seeking a co-chair (2-year commitment required) to serve next year. Please contact Jeff Stein (jastein@illinois.edu) if interested in serving in this capacity. 

 

6.Announcements – None. 

 

7.Committee Reports: 

CAPE Awards Committee – Kristina Miller reported the CAPE Awards went very well. 

University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee – Nothing to report. 

Academic Professional Senators – Rick Atterberry discussed the last Senate meeting, reported revisions to the Senate bylaws passed clarifying which APs can site on Senate committees. Rick also mentioned the AAUP recently made a site visit and the University is making progress to address and remove the current censure. 

Procedures and Elections Committee – The CAP Chair reviewed incoming and outgoing CAP representative members. He noted a full CAP membership list will be provided at the next meeting. 

Communications Committee – The committee reported that work continues to streamline the CAP website. 

Grievance Officer – Nothing new to report, however, the subcommittee will deliver its final recommendations regarding the open grievance during a closed session at the next CAP meeting.
 

8.Academic Human Resources Report – Deborah Stone attended for Elyne Cole, and reported, that last year President Killeen charged the campus to review its units to see if there were any functional offices that could be re-aligned (via a phased approach) with University Administration to achieve efficiencies. The first phase of the re-alignment will be to transfer three units – purchasing offices within procurement, budget offices within OBFS and post award grants and contracts – from the System to the Universities. The target date for the integration is July 7, 2017. It is important to note that no jobs will be lost as a result of the re-alignment. 

 

9.Unfinished Business – The CAP Chair continues to seek volunteers from elected CAP member representatives to develop a strategy to expand AP senator seats and provide a restructuring plan. Member representatives should send offers to serve in this capacity to Jeff Stein (jastein@illinois.edu). 

 

10.New Business – None. 

 

11.Closed Session – None. 

 

12.Adjournment – Meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m.