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Staff & Administrative Council Committee Meeting Minutes Thursday, November 12, 2020

11 a.m. via Zoom

Present: Barghout, Jennifer; Beyrer, Brian; Brechtel, Emily; Connolly, Jennifer; Cooke, Shannon; Derenzis, Lewis; Ferrick, Courtney; Ford, Jason; Grant, Mary; Jaccino, Helena; Katz, Andrew; Pace, Marie; Procario-Foley, Carl; Rosenberg, Jessica; Sannella, Marissa; Stanko, Jonathan; Tascio, Peter; Wenchell, Laurie

Excused: Carruth, Martise; Derosa, Sam; Girardi, Angela; Johnson, Gary

By Invitation: Smith, Denise

1. Call to Order

October 15, 2020 minutes unanimously approved (Derenzis/Grant).

2. College Council Standing Committee Updates

  1. College Council.  Met on October 21; Pres. Carey thanked everyone for all the work being done and especially the extra work caused by the pandemic. Dr. Wheeler discussed the reset and cases jumping to 84; noted that none were from classroom contact; thanked everyone for their diligence; congratulated faculty from antiracism task force and noted that some were accepted to Wabash Center Anti-Racist Symposium; acknowledge faculty for response to fall grading issues re p/u; reports from core curriculum, from Hynes Institute on Lunch & Learns; on peer & community mentors in entrepreneurship; Middle States on target, on pace to draft and revise by June 2021. Reported from C. Procario-Foley.
  2. Committee on Academic Affairs.  Met on October 27; the conversation was lengthy with much discussion of p/u grading. They did not wish to make decision about spring and want to be able to use the p/u option for spring; should be viewed in light of students’ progress; layers of impact are becoming concern. Discussed changed GPA frame and how it changes GPA for honors, etc. Question: so if at end of last year, the student had a 3.1 and chose p/u and passed everything, then GPA would still be 3.1? Answer is yes and correcting needs to be done of GPAs. Also to consider, what about students who choose p/u and then sit back and don’t participate, etc. Reported from L. Wenchell.
  3. Committee on Athletics.  Met last week, discussed academic side, p/u grading option as it relates to athletes, etc; Jamie touched on APR reports regarding health and aspects of Athletics Dept – one of the best rates in years and will be positive when the report is finalized. Reported from J. Stanko.
  4. Committee on Budget.  Discussion of grad school, Arts & Science, tuition increases, historic increases, etc. Budget Committee recommended 3% increase in grad school costs; all will go to Board for approval at next meeting and then we’ll know expected budget for coming year. Reported from J. Ford.
  5. Committee on Diversity. No report.
  6. Committee on Enrollment Management. No report.
  7. Committee on Environmental Sustainability.  Met two weeks ago; working with Diversity Committee on land acknowledgement statement, being voted on for next meeting. (The statement honors native peoples who lived on land that the College is on. It would go on our website and be read at various formal gatherings of the College.) Hosted environmental racism workshop during Week of the Peacemaker.
  8. Committee on Human Resources & Compensation.  No report. (Meeting tomorrow.)
  9. Committee on Institutional Advancement.  No report.
  10. Committee on Libraries.  No report.
  11. Committee on Student Life. Met on November 6. Update from Kevin O’Sullivan, end-of-semester planning, ending student activities and in-person engagement end on high note, continued COVID testing for walk-ins and appointments, updated NYS legislation for students returning home/testing. Had open house previous weekend with several hundred attending virtually, conducted live student panels and on-demand panels. Update from Joel Quinton, kept students engaged with Week of the Peacemaker and virtual Homecoming; hired new interim director for Health Services; will begin hiring process for director of Performing Arts to increase co-curricular opportunities; looking to hire project director from Department of Justice grant; working on way to connect with students during break; Student Life and Athletics will promote participation during break with winter sports season and virtual watch parties; late night breakfast and Gael Fest events upcoming. Updates from SGA and on student academic success as well.

3. Old Business

Brother Bray Awards. Br. J. Ford brought up at last meeting with Dr. Wheeler and MaryEllen Callaghan, but there was much conversation about p/u grading and human resources questions and so those got more play. Goal was to present with the faculty awards but there will not be any gatherings. Will work with MarCom to get it done before end of year.

4. New Business

  1. What is College’s quarantine policy?.  Employees go through Human Resources and if exposed directly to positive case, then quarantine for 14 days. They may also hear from local contact tracers. If they test positive, still isolate for 14 days, even though CDC may say 10 days. Indirect exposure does not require anything. Students are not handled through HR but through Health Services and if positive, isolate for 14 days and contact tracing is done to determine exposure, suitemates etc. Not released from quarantine until 11:59pm on day 14.

    So if a student comes from another country, do they have to quarantine? Reviewing rule to get it out ahead of Thanksgiving. They quarantine at a hotel, get negative test, then come to campus. No exception for that. Have fine-tuned process/policy over semester, would not change. Reported from Denise Smith.

  2. Paycom & Taxes.. Everyone can go in and check their taxes; HR can’t give tax advice. Feeling is that some might feel a little abandoned. Main source of confusion is the W4 form, but employees can look at last pay stub to see what their numbers were.
  3. Paycom & Hourly Employees.  All non-exempt employees must clock in – NYS wage & hour laws require we track time. We always have but it has been manual and now is automated. Web app is supposed to be convenience. Can punch in and out numerous times, so flex time should still be fine. Per HR, this is not a trust issue, but a legal requirement for school. Comment from L. Wenchell that punching a clock feels antiquated; she does 9a-5p but is on email etc, outside of hours. It feels confining, with no sense of freedom. Additionally, now we get “dinged” if we are not on location. Response: teams are using kiosks, which were requested by managers. From HR payroll perspective, it’s to know people are getting paid correctly. It’s a culture shift and different, takes time to get used to. Still allows you to punch in even if outside of location. Time has always been tracked, just puts responsibility on employee.

    Open enrollment starts next week – everyone take advantage – will happen in Paycom as well. Active enrollment – make sure to update all information. Everyone must go in to make selections. Reported from Denise Smith.

  4. Additional discussion: Expectation for offices over break? Aside from holidays, campus is open. If you arrange with your manager, that is one thing, but from College perspective, no plans to go remote.

    Not getting back the three days we lost? Three days were added to Christmas break to have two full weeks. Lewis: was never fully communicated when we were told days were being taken away, that time was given back at Christmas. Lot of miscommunication regarding when work would end. No clear communication on that getting days back. Could take back to president and ask for clarity. Holiday calendars usually go through HR&C (Denise said it did) she shared it with them. Then whoever was on HR&C didn’t report it back. There was an email about spending more time with families.

Hiring policy – not every position goes through a search committee; not policy.

Meeting adjourned (DelliCarpini/Connolly).