Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 15 December 11, 1997 - Committees report to Staff Senate

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Committees report to Staff Senate

By Jill Elswick

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 15 - December 11, 1997

At November's Staff Senate meeting, the Committee on Undergraduate Studies reported that the interval between classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be changed from 10 minutes to 15 minutes. The new class schedule will not take effect in fall 1998 as previously planned; fall 2000 is the new target date.
The Commission on Student Affairs reported that it will ask the Event Planning Office for a trial period to allow registered student organizations to solicit, from approved membership tables, fellow students for recruitment and non-financial support. This action in response to the Student Government Association's desire to amend University Policy 5205.
The Policy and Issues Committee reported on its initiative to increase the low number of staff senators and to re-activate inactive staff associations.
The University Employee Benefits Committee reported that Doug Martin will investigate the cost impact and the implications for administering flexible enrollment and separation dates for academic-year faculty members' health plans.
The committee also reported inquiries regarding health-care accessibility for part-time salaried, wage, and P-14 employees and graduate assistants. Martin is preparing a matrix, to share with Delegate Jim Shuler, showing the number of workers in each employment category and the type of health-care coverage currently available.
After the committee reports, the Staff Senate heard Ella Mae Vaught of Personnel Services speak about the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This law requires employers to provide up to 12 weeks per calendar year of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons.