Staff at Carleton

August 26, 2004 (Sayles Hill 251)

Present: Lorie Tuma (co-chair 04-05), Stephanie Huston (co-chair 04-05), Patt Germann (secretary 04-05), Linda Irrthum (Alt), Carol Spessard (elections committee), Sandy Saari (Rep.), Noel Ponder (Rep.), Kathy Cooper (Rep.), Kris Peterson (Alt.), Melissa Thomas (Rep.), Peggy Sellers (Rep.), Jean Hayes (College Council Rep.), Robbie Groth (Rep.), Linda Mueller (Rep.), Diethelm Prowe (faculty rep.)

The August meeting was brought to order by co-chair Lorie Tuma. She introduced Stephanie Huston as the co-chair for 2004-2005, and Diethelm Prowe, the new faculty representative for fall term. Melinda Russell is on leave this term; beginning this winter, she will be our three-year faculty representative.

The June 10 minutes were approved with the addition of Melissa Thomas as an attendee for June. Her name was inadvertently omitted in the minutes. The final copy of the minutes will be posted on the website.

Parental and Funeral Leave:

Stephanie Huston spoke briefly about the new Parental Leave policy and, upon request, read the new portion. It may be found on page 23 in the on-line version of the employee handbook.

Stephanie Huston also presented updates in the funeral policy which may be found on

page 24 in the on-line version of the Staff Handbook. A request has been made to Human Resources that a notation be made on the back of timesheets explaining how funeral leave is to be noted (e.g., immediate versus extended family leave).

Benefits Committee report:

Stephanie Huston read the following Benefits Committee report, submitted through e-mail by Becky Krogh:

The College's benefit committee is continuing its mission to review the health care benefits for employees. Committee members have continued to meet on a bi-weekly basis this summer. The committee has met with outside consultants to learn more about: health care options and plan design changes which could result in savings to employees with no reduction in services or coverage. Members have spent a good deal of time reviewing and discussing the materials the consultants have submitted including bids from other health care providers and have met with Blue Cross Blue Shield representatives to review their bid and proposal.

The Committee will be submitting a proposal the first part of September to Administrative Council. We hope to do several educational sessions in October. Benefit enrollment forms are scheduled to be sent out in November. Committee members are working diligently to find health care coverage that will continue to offer employees maximum security without major increases in costs. Committee members welcome questions and/or suggestions. Check out the following website, www.bluecrossmn.com/servicecenter, for information regarding your claim history, hospital and physician quality ratings, the capability to e-mail customer service at Blue Cross instead of calling, and much more.

New scheduling software:

Stephanie Huston stated that room request software will be updated during Winter Break. The new website is extremely different from the current one. Training sessions will be provided beginning in January, 2005, and are recommended for those currently using the software, along with any other staff interested in updating their knowledge.

Availability of SAC information

Carol Spessard updated the status of the SAC files on the new Collab (I://) drive. At the moment, only the SAC officers/Executive Board and the Nominations and Elections Committee have access to this folder. ITS has indicated it is difficult to allow access to all non-exempt staff due to the amount of time involved in the process. It was suggested that all relevant material be placed on the SAC website, http://webapps.acs.carleton.edu/campus/staff/sac/.

Serving as Election Judge: Linda Mueller brought up a question on non-exempt staff serving as an Election Judge. There are several non-exempt staff members serving in this capacity, but nothing is mentioned in the Staff Handbook. She has been in discussion with the Human Resources offices and Payroll, and will report at the next meeting on the final decision.

Online timesheets

Carol Spessard spoke of the new software for timesheets online, as discussed in the Colleague User Group (CUG) meeting over the summer. The proposal is to get student timesheets on-line during winter break with non-exempt staff to follow. More information will be shared, as it is released.

Fall term SAC meetings (also found on the SAC website):

Meetings for fall term were scheduled.

• Thursday, September 23rd - 1:30pm - 2:30pm - Hill Lounge
• Thursday, October 21st - 10am - 11am - LDC 117 - Clem Shearer Dining Room
• Thursday, November 11th - 1:30pm - 2:30pm - Hill Lounge

Committee sign-up:

Lorie and Stephanie circulated a committee participation sheet, asking members to work on various tasks. Those committees consist of: Nominations and Elections, Benefits and Salary, By-laws, Publications, Staff Development, Special Projects, and Website. Please notify any of the officers if you are interested in serving on any of the projects.

Exempt staff forum socials

The Exempt Staff Forum have approached the SAC co-chairs inquiring about co-sponsoring social gatherings on campus (this is in lieu of the ones formerly held downtown). The general consensus was that SAC should participate. Stephanie Huston will learn more about funding for these events through the Human Resources office. More information will be forthcoming.

By: Patt Germann, Secretary