Meeting Minutes

March 2019 Minutes

Minutes for March 2019 Monthly CAP Meeting
Thursday, March 7, 2019, 1:15 PM | 314A Illini Union

Attendees: Brent West (1), Amy Hovious (2), Randy Sandone (2), Mindy Spencer (3), Micah Kenfield (4), Ann Jones (5), Carl Baker (6), Victoria Huart (8), Brian Brauer (8), George Gottschalk (9), Nancy Walsh (10) , John Scott (11) ), Jeff Stein (11)

Excused Absences: Richard Gegg (1), Maggie Jarvis (3), Charlie Mitsdarfer (5), Lisa Merrifield (6), Betoel Escobar (7), Chantelle Thompson (7)

 

  1. Call to Order
    • Chair Hovious called to order at 1:15 PM
  2. Public Comment
    • No public comment.
  3. Review and Approval Previous Month’s Minutes
    • Jeff Stein moved to approve with edits. George Gottschalk seconded. Approved with no dissent.
  4. Chair’s Remarks
    • As a reminder, the Chancellor will attend our meeting in April and then rejoin us at the CAPE awards that afternoon. We will need to gather questions for the Chancellor and submit them in advance. Chair Hovious will work with Maggie Jarvis to work on this.
    • The Communications Team sent out several high-quality newsletters recently, and Chair Hovious offers them her kudos.
    • There are two agenda items for closed session.
    • Mandatory sexual misconduct training is now live, and should be completed no later than April 3rd.
  5. Announcements
    • Becky Ferrell, our previous vice-chair and District 9 representative, has her going away happy hour at 5:00 PM on March 11.
  6. Committee Reports
    • Academic Professional Senators
      1. Jenny Garner sent in a report from the March 3, 2019 meeting that was reviewed by CAP.
    • Senate, Campus, and University Committees
      1. USSP
        1. Jeff Stein provided an update on several upcoming proposals.
        2. SP1913 is a bylaws change. This will change the makeup of the committee on Public Engagement and Institutional Advancement to add an additional Academic Professional, add an ex officio member from Extension, and remove the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement. This is still in committee.
        3. SP1712 is a statutes change. This is related to the faculty role in governance and academic freedom. There are two changes proposed. One is to explicitly note that the Academic Freedom protections apply to all academic speech, including APs. The other is to specifically clarify the nature of protected academic speech. One key item is to note that “any time the academic staff member is speaking in public on a matter of public interest, the understanding is that they are speaking on behalf of themselves and not the university as a whole.”
        4. SP1903 is a change to the bylaws of the Senate regarding who is and is not allowed to speak. The committee is working on language to more directly define this. This includes establishing rules and limits on public comment, modeled after the Board of Trustees parameters, to bring things in keeping more with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act. There is also a provision to create a process for non-senators to speak on matters of relevance with the consent of the chair with 12 hours of notice.
      2. Faculty/Staff Benefits Committee
        1. Micah Kenfield provided an update that the committee met. Primary items discussed were the upcoming SURS Buyout opportunity, legislative updates, and the nature of budgetary challenges facing the state.
        2. Information about the SURS buyout is available on the SURS website.
        3. There are a number of legislative bills with potential to impact the University of Illinois but nothing at present that has gone beyond initial discussions.
  • Senate Executive Committee
    1. Chair Hovious noted the main issues discussed were already covered through the AP Senator Report and Jeff Stein’s report.
  1. Senate Committee on Public Engagement
    1. No report at this time due to Chantelle Thompson’s absence.
  • University Professional Personnel Advisory Committee
    1. No update.
  • HR – Training and Employee Development Advisory Committee (TEDAC)
    1. One of the committees created a list of core competencies to be referenced as we develop professional development opportunities.
    2. This is a recently formed HR committee.
  • CAPE Awards Committee
    1. Carl Baker reported that the Chancellor has accepted the nominations and letters have been distributed to the winners.
  • Procedures and Elections Committee
    1. AP Rosters have been verified and will be prepared for the elections.
    2. There will be a vote to confirm a new District 9 representative during closed session today.
  • Communications Committee
    1. A refresh of the website will be available for preview at the next CAP meeting.
  • Grievance Officer
    1. A brief update on this will be discussed during closed session.
  • Ad Hoc Committee on Harassment
    1. There have been no updates from Rusty Barcelo’s office related to the role of the committee and the University at large.
  1. Academic Human Resources Report Senior Associate Chancellor for Human Resources
    • There is no update on the budget at this time.
    • Exemption Update
      1. Since October, there have been 788 job descriptions reviewed. Of those 788, 477 were determined to be overtime exempt. Of the remaining 477, 298 were classified as Academic Professional.
      2. 18 positions currently occupied by employees have been reclassified to Civil Service.
  • HR has had a conversation with the director of the Civil Service System. So far, our campus is the only unit in the state that has shown to be taking the new rules seriously and implementing them correctly.
  1. Elyne Cole requested feedback from CAP to see if there were any issues that came up.
    1. Brian Brauer reported that HR has been very helpful in understanding the reclassification policy and implementing it during the process of promoting employees.
    2. Elyne Cole noted that HR has hired new staff to support this process.
  2. Upcoming Audits
    1. The system doesn’t dictate how the large-scale triennial audit will occur. This audit will be used to determine which positions are classified as AP.
    2. Our approach is intended to be done via functional area to ensure consistency in titles, duties, responsibilities, and pay. Human Resources will be the first functional area to go through this process since HR has staff across campus.
  3. Nancy Walsh asked if employees can request an audit to be considered for Civil Service positions. HR has noted that due to the plan to do reviews by functional area, doing reviews on demand is not feasible.
  • Mindy Spencer asked if there will be consistency across, for example, which positions are classified as assistant directors versus which are classified as associate directors. HR noted that the goal is to eventually address this through the process.
  • The System Office has dictated that any changes to Civil Service sick leave to bring parity with AP sick leave is a system-level issue and must be resolved for all three campuses in lockstep.
  1. HR reported that supervisors, in general, have not had significant and extraordinary complaints regarding the process.
  • AP Development Fund
    1. Since the last meeting, there have been 95 new applicants. This is so successful that there now may be concerns with how this is addressed.
    2. Last month, we approved a total of $30,000 for the development fund. This month, altogether, we will have approved over $63,000.
  • This is very good news, and HR is pleased to report this.
  • The “I’m A Professional” campaign is successful and has received positive buzz.
  1. Unfinished Business
    • No unfinished business
  2. New Business
    • Please remember to apply for the AP Leadership Program in the next few weeks.
  3. Closed Session (if necessary)
    • An update on grievances and the selection of a new District 9 representative occurred during closed session.
  4. Adjournment

 

Dates and Locations of CAP Monthly Meetings and CAP-Sponsored Events

Date Location Notes and Other Events
     
March 7, 2019 314A Illini Union  
April 10, 2019 TBD Chancellor Visit
April 10, 2019 iHotel CAPE Awards
May 2, 2019 TBD  
June 6, 2019 TBD President Visit