PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE
2004-2005 Annual Report
June 17, 2005
Major projects during the year
Drafted various revisions in Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) for consideration by the Academic Staff Assembly; all of the following received Assembly approval and are awaiting approval by the Provost and then transmission to the Board of Regents
Clarified definitions of Abudget or program decision, funding
loss, and years of service, and added a definition of "employing
unit"
Allowed departments to offer new employees only the web addresses
of two lengthy documents
Specified that the employee selects the representatives present
during appeals
Allowed joinder of cases of nonrenewal as well as layoff
Made consistent the language on the basis of appeals for nonrenewals
and layoffs
Allowed for delaying a personal presentation in a dean's review
of a dismissal
Added language to recognize the new Ombuds Office as another source
of advice and information during informal resolution of an employment
problem
Suggested that academic staff with supervisory roles should be
reviewed as supervisors
[**new (passed by Assembly in April 2005)]
Added to ASPP the statutory language establishing academic staff
governance
Removed the requirement for evaluations of staff on terminal appointments;
added a requirement that the dean, director, or designee approve terminations
of appointments during the evaluation period and that the employee be
given the reasons
Introduced the idea of suspending the evaluation period in certain
circumstances
Changed the language to "strongly recommend" rather than
"require" a written performance evaluation at the midpoint of
a period of evaluation
Allowed an employee to receive reasons if new or increased job
security is not offered
Clarified the procedure when a new employer is willing to continue
a previously granted indefinite appointment
Clarified the information distribution after an appeal is filed
Renamed Chapter 4 and added an explanatory note about probationary
appointments
Continued to monitor job security at the UW-Madison
Sent to all academic staff a flyer describing the ASPP-mandated review of employees with five or more years of service for a rolling-horizon, indefinite, or multiple-year appointment
Reviewed the school and college reports on job security offered or modified during 2003-04; reviewed questionable reasons for denying job security to long-term employees; prepared a summary report and sent copies to the Assembly and school and college Committees on Academic Staff Issues
Other topics addressed
Reviewed the annual reports of the Distinguished Prefix Review Committee and four Area Review Committees (Administrative/Student Services/Library, Biological/Medical, Humanities/Social Science, and Physical Sciences/Engineering)
Reviewed quarterly reports on grievances and appeals submitted by the Academic Personnel Office
Responded to inquiries from the Academic Personnel Office regarding interpretations of ASPP
Reviewed changes in operating procedures of the Academic Staff Appeals Committee
Reviewed proposed revisions to the academic staff disability accommodation policy before they went to the Academic Staff Assembly and were passed
Participated in pre-Assembly meeting where representatives could ask questions about committee activities
Committee members
Daniel Barnish
Maureen Noonan Bischof
Carlotta Calmese
Jeanne Hendricks
Carla Love
John Mather
Amy Pritchard
Rebecca Ryan
Ann Wallace (Chair)