Staff Questions
During all regular SAC meetings, staff questions are treated confidentially and addressed by the committee. A sampling of popular questions as well as their resolutions and/or outcomes are listed below under the following sub-headings:
Do you have a question for SAC? E-mail us: SAC@brown.edu
BENEFITS
Is it possible to get reimbursed for Distance Learning (on-line) courses? Yes, in certain circumstances. This issue was brought by SAC to the Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB). As of July 1, 2006, a pilot distance learning (DL) option was added to the existing EEP policy for one full fiscal year (2006/2007) forparticipants who were enrolled in traditional degree programs (requiring regular classroom attendance).
There have been inquiries about the pilot program with interest for future use, but the option has not been a driving force for employees to enroll in a degree program.
Although the news of the pilot distance learning option generated positive responses, the questions, inquiries, and emails have been much more focused on whether distance learning degree/certification programs would be considered for future approval. Brown’s Benefit Office is currently in the process of reviewing the costs and the demand of this benefit. Based on the results, additional changes may be recommended.
Can staff members “donate” their Vacation or Sick Time to another employee? No. The Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) has recommended that sick and vacation time remain benefits that are personal to each employee and non transferable. The HRAB feels that sick time provides protection to individual employees who become ill or injured and that our policies should not permit employees to risk their own protection by “donating” sick time to another staff member. There are a number of issues to be considered which make this a more complex question than it may generally appear. Because of Brown’s generous sick and vacation time, along with the income continuation available from RI Temporary Disability Insurance, most instances of need are covered during a leave of absence or to bridge the long-term disability waiting period. The Benefits Office works closely and assists individuals in managing the time periods and benefits involved...
What about "unbankable time off" (i.e., excess, sick and/or vacation time) being donated to another employee? We speculate that the accrual limits were adopted because this constitutes a large allocation of resources. The purpose of the benefit is to provide a reasonable bank to "bridge" an employee to Long-Term Disability, if necessary. That is, when sick and/or vacation time is unused and unbankable it is forfeited and cannot be donated. Leave donation banks present complex and varied questions, including how to "value" donated time, interaction with Brown leave policies and the state provided TDI, and concerns that time will be donated to benefit specific employees only.
Is there a Special Maternity Benefit for Adoptive Families? Yes. The Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) discussed this issue in 2006 at some length and as a result their recommendations have been approved.
The Special Maternity Benefit has been renamed to the Maternity Benefit and now includes adoptive mothers as well as primary care givers in same-sex domestic partner relationships. See HR policy #30.026 which is in the process of being updated.
What is the rationale behind the 4 year minimum employment period required to receive the Special Maternity Benefit? We would speculate that the four year eligibility period for the maternity benefit was adopted because a six week paid maternity leave is a large allocation of resources and, as such, may have been done in order to reward long-service employees. The Special Maternity Benefit was created by President Gregorian at a time prior to federal or state laws that granted job-protected time off for child birth. The benefit was created for staff, in an attempt to mirror benefits then available for faculty. Recently, the Maternity Benefit provisions were considered by the Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB). The HRAB recommended several changes however they chose to retain the four year eligibility period. Staff members who are not eligible for the Maternity Benefit are eligible to use any accrued sick or vacation time and they can also collect state Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) benefits.
Why are staff health and dental insurance rates going up? Staff and health insurance rates continue to go up primarily because the cost of providing health care to Brown employees continues to go up. Brown is "fully-insured" by our health and dental carriers and our claims are fully credible. This means that only Brown members' health and dental claims are used (in conjunction with overall health care trend) to determine Brown's premiums. In addition to claims expenses, insurers add administrative and profit/reserve margins into their rates. However, claims expense is by far the largest component of health and dental costs.
This doesn’t mean we don’t do everything we can to keep costs down. The Human Resources Advisory Board ( HRAB) regularly reviews the rising cost of health care and how best to keep premiums as low as possible while providing employees with comprehensive health coverage.
That stated, health premiums have risen by double digits annually for many years now. Over that time, health care trend (which is expected health care cost projections based on utilization and price factors) has been substantially greater than general inflation. In 2007, health care “trend” was approximately 13%. Brown's health care premiums increased 7.9% for HealthMate Coast-to-Coast and 6.9% for Choice Plus in 2007. Dental trend, at approximately 6%/year, is much less volatile than health. Brown's dental premiums increased 3.5% for the Comprehensive option and 5.8% for the Plus option for 2007.
Can Brown replace the Victory Day holiday with a floating holiday? The Human Resources Advisory Board ( HRAB) considered no longer recognizing Victory Day as a university holiday, and instead offering a “floating” holiday to staff members, or replacing Victory Day with another holiday (such as Presidents’ Day). This request did not receive much support due largely to the feeling that more staff members appreciated a holiday during the summer months than during the winter. The University remains open on President’s Day as a trade-off for closing the day after Thanksgiving. Upon the HRAB review of Brown’s vacation and holiday schedule, it has been determined that both the number of vacation days Brown offers and the actual holiday dates themselves are appropriate. HRAB advised that staff have considerable flexibility within their vacation day allotment to take off additional days like President’s Day at their own discretion. In addition, since 2002, the University has closed for winter break between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. This has added between 3 and 5 Winter Break Closing days each year. These days do not count toward employees’ vacation time and are granted in addition to the 11 regularly scheduled holidays.
For a schedule of all Staff University Holidays, go to: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/benefits/time_off_holiday_schedule.html
Is there a Weight Management program on campus? The University is collaborating with the BCBSRI Good Health Benefit® (GHB) to sponsor a six-week weight management program, Weigh to Go!, with trained program specialists, including a registered dietician. New programs are scheduled throughout the year, both on campus and in the Jewelry District. We anticipate offering the next session in September.
In addition, other health and wellness promotions and events occur throughout the year.
For more information, call the Benefits Office at 3-2141, or go to: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/benefits/hpc.html
The Tuition Aid Program is great…but could it be expanded…? The Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) plans to continue to evaluate all requests for benefit changes and enhancement and requests for changes as Brown is expending its benefits dollars. However, the HRAB must consider the financial impact on Brown’s total benefit budget when making recommendations. TAP is a generous benefit and quite costly. At this time, we do not anticipate that the HRAB will make recommendations for major changes to this benefit in the near future.
Has Brown ever considered joining the Council on Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP)? The CIC-TEP is a cooperative arrangement made by a variety of colleges and universities so that children of staff and faculty can receive free tuition at any of the participating schools. Brown’s Human Resources Advisory Board (HRAB) has determined that the current $10,000 tuition benefit is substantial. Once again, we do not anticipate that the HRAB will make recommendations for major changes in the near future.
I have no children and will never benefit from the $10,000 Tuition Aid program. It seems like a lopsided benefit… Certain key benefits affect our ability to attract and retain the best possible faculty and staff. Many of our higher education peers offer such a benefit and, as such, this benefit is important in maintaining our competitive position. Although less than ten percent of our staff and faculty may be receiving TAP benefits at any one time, many, many hundreds of employees benefit from this program over their careers at Brown.
Are there any staff support groups on campus? Yes! There are two: a Cancer Support Group (for anyone who is going through or has gone through cancer treatments), and a Care-Giver Support Group. For more information, contact Jim Hutchison at James_Hutchison@brown.edu. If you have a suggestion for any other support groups, please email us: SAC@brown.edu.
In addition, there is “My Liberty Assist™,” the Faculty Staff Assistance Program. For more information, go to: see HR Policy #30.013 or call 1-877-695-2789 for “My Liberty Assist™.”
After 25 years of Service, all I get is a "one time only" 10 extra days of vacation? In researching how other universities, both within and outside of the Ivy League, recognize long-term employees, we have found that Brown is quite competitive. The one-time bonus of 10 extra vacation days at 25-years of service is unique among our peer institutions. In addition to the one-time vacation day bonus, 25-year employees are also given a choice of gifts including a Brown University chair, mahogany mantle clock, or $300 Bookstore gift certificate. At B.E.A.R. Day, this group also receives special public recognition. While every department at Brown is different, some departments even have additional receptions to celebrate service outside of the formal B.E.A.R. Day program such as breakfasts, lunches, gifts, and flowers. Finally, Brown offers a generous and highly competitive vacation benefit and does not justify upgrading the benefit. Typically, we do not commonly receive requests to increase the on-going annual vacation allotment. The bonus 10 vacation days are a reflection of the 25-year milestone and the days provided do not expire at the end of the fiscal year. This allows our long-service employees the flexibility to use those bonus days when they want to, including using them to add a few vacation days to their annual accrual at their discretion.
CAMPUS LIFE
The Ivy Room seems very crowded these days … with students! Dining Services acknowledges that the popularity of the Ivy Room seems to have increased this year. Many staff members are unaware that, with the exception of the Faculty Club, all Dining Service’s operations are open to the entire Brown Community. Below are some reasons for the increase in students who are choosing to eat at the Ivy Room:
1) Brown has its highest rate of meal plan participation in many years, so there are more students eating more meals in all of dining operations. Additionally, some students have selected one of four new meal plans which have a higher number of points associated with them than the traditional plans do.
2) The Ivy Room lost about 25 seats when the passenger elevator was installed the summer of 2006. Dining Services is looking at seating plans that would try to return at least 15 of those lost seats, based on fire code capacities.
Dining Services has taken the following steps to help the traffic and seating issues that have surfaced:Reviewed the setup and staffing of the deli and hot food service areas to increase efficiency and reduce the waiting time in-line; Reviewed menu options on the hot-service line both in the Ivy Room and MDR to help balance traffic; Opened the Chancellor's Dining Room Annex (off of the Main Dining Room) for overflow seating during lunch, when available.
How would I find out about carpooling to and from Brown? The Transportation Office (x 3-1000) has a comprehensive website that includes a myriad of options, including a carpooling forum.
Check it out at: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Finance_and_Admin/transportation/
What kind of career path do I have at Brown? Is there a “management training” program that will help me? The role of Staff Learning & Professional Development is to facilitate learning and assist staff in maximizing job performance through various programs and have recently updated the site to enable searches by competencies and topics including Management & Leadership. In addition to the programs offered by Staff Learning & Professional Development, they have partnered with Subject Matter Experts (SME's) across the campus to develop skill-building and informational programs for the Brown Community. The Staff Learning & Professional Development team also the administer Training@brown.edu, a campus-wide, online training registration system and will also create specific programs or facilitate initiatives upon request from departments to address specific departmental learning and developmental needs.
If you haven’t done so already, check out: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Human_Resources/learning/ , developed by Brown’s Center for Staff Learning & Professional Development.
It seems there are fewer security officers on campus when students are on break. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) maintains the same minimum staffing level for Brown officers throughout the year, even during break periods. However, depending on campus activity and population, DPS may at times shift and deploy officers to concentrate more heavily on certain areas of the campus. Break periods allow DPS officers to concentrate on high visibility posts during the start and end of the work day. The Department will sometimes slightly reduce the number of outside security personnel used on campus during breaks to coincide with the reduction in our campus population by several thousand individuals during those periods. Specific questions or suggestions about safety and security on campus should go directly to Mark_Porter@brown.edu (Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety) or Mark_Perry@brown.edu (Security Officer).
Is there a staff Ombudsperson… someone who can help me deal with an awkward and difficult job situations in a confidential and “safe” manner? Staff members who feel they are involved in a difficult situation should contact Brown’s Employee Relations team which works with departments, managers, and individuals. They do not attempt to act as advocates for either employees or managers; rather try to guide employees in the hopes they may resolve any issues or problems on their own. The Employee Relations team listens carefully to help the individual identify and analyze the problem, brainstorms possible solutions, assess the risks and rewards associated with each solution, provides information based on past situations and Brown’s policies and practices, and assist them in considering which course of action may best suit their personal circumstances. Conversations are kept confidential unless disclosure would be helpful and is agreed upon in advance. In some cases, disclosure involves a very serious situation which requires immediate action (e.g., sexual harassment or safety).
In addition, there are a number of other resources including the Chaplain’s Office, the EEO/AA Office, Risk Management, and the Faculty Staff Assistance Program. The Faculty Staff Assistance Program is called “My Liberty Assist™.”
For more information on “My Liberty Assist™,”see HR Policy # 30.013. or call 1-877-695-2789 for “My Liberty Assist™.”
For full information and links on the above resources, go to the Employee Relations website.
How does Brown invest its money? The professional staff of the Brown University Investment Office and the members of the Brown University Investment Committee, a committee of the Brown Corporation and the University governing body, work together to manage the endowment of the University. The Investment Committee focuses on high-level investment policy and strategy. Members of the committee have a thorough understanding of investment management, generally gained through direct experience in the field. The Investment Office staff recommends policies and strategies to the Investment Committee and hires and evaluates external investment managers, who have expertise and demonstrated success in managing particular asset classes.
The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRI) considers issues of moral responsibility, examines all proxy resolutions that are presented to the University as a shareholder in any company and that raise issues of social responsibility, and considers requests by any member of the Brown Community to examine issues of alleged "social harm" with respect to the activities of corporations in which the University is an investor. In March, 2007, two staff representatives were invited to sit on this committee. Anyone with questions should feel free to contact the staff reps or the Chair of the Committee directly. Contact information can be found at the ACCRI website.
For more information about the endowment, including asset allocation and investment returns, see: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Finance_and_Admin/Investment_Office/
Is Brown looking into a centralized Room Reservation system? CIS is working on Resource-25, a room scheduling system which will, over time, simplify and streamline scheduling classes and events on campus. The first phase of the project focuses on classroom scheduling. In addition, over the summer a small number of “event” spaces will begin to be scheduled in Resource-25. Over the next several months CIS will plan how to extend Resource-25 to more offices and campus spaces. Watch Morning Mail in 2007-2008 for information about the Resource 25 project launch. You can also find project updates in the Banner Project Monthly Updates.
Does Brown allow flexible job scheduling? Yes. Brown’s Human Resources Department calls this “Alternative Working Arrangements” (AWA), and it does indeed have a policy for it. The supervisor or department head reviews the AWA request and either approves it with additional provisions or modifications, or denies it. If a request for an AWA is denied, the reasons should be clearly communicated to the employee and the decision will be final. Keep in mind that in certain departments, AWA’s may not be feasible at all or may be limited to certain times of the year.
For more information,see HR policy #20.053.
SAC-SPECIFIC
Why is there a two-year work requirement before a staff member can apply to SAC? The two-year requirement was established when the founding SAC members wrote the charter. They felt it was important for a staff member to feel really comfortable in his or her job and have a basic understanding of how the University operates before applying to serve on SAC. The 2006 SAC group revisited this issue and voted to keep the two-year requirement in place in order for members to serve out their terms in a truly meaningful and productive way.
That being said, SAC also appreciates that new employees sometimes have the best ideas for improving processes, and encourages them to contact SAC to share their thoughts and suggestions: SAC@brown.edu.
For more SAC-specific questions and answers, go to: About SAC and click on "Frequently Asked Questions."