- Welcome
- New Staff orientation timeline
- Definition of Academic Staff
- Frequently asked questions
- UW–Madison Academic Staff Policies and Procedures Manual
NEW ACADEMIC STAFF OVERVIEW
Welcome to the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) and the wonderful world of Academic Staff!
The School’s Committee on Academic Staff Issues (CASI) has created this document to help acquaint you with your new “home” at SoHE, with UW-Madison, and with the unique aspects of academic staff positions. We thank our colleagues at the School of Education whose wonderful website was the source for much of what is included.
On the UW campus there are four main staff categories: faculty, classified staff, graduate assistants, and ACADEMIC STAFF—who make up one-third of all staff!
Within the Academic Staff category is a huge, diverse collection of job titles: scientists and social workers, lecturers and librarians, deans and dietitians, counselor and curators, preschool teachers and program managers.
The common thread throughout is that these positions are either unique to higher education, provide direct support for academic programming, and/or develop and implement policies at UW-Madison.
At the School of Human Ecology, academic staff teach preschoolers, counsel students, develop publications, help us with our computers, lecture, run federal programs, head up the Business Office and Grants and Human Resources, and work with Dean Douthitt on overall SoHE administration and development.
Thanks to this diversity, our academic staff group has varied needs and interests. We have tried to provide general information that we hope will be helpful to everyone. For information specific to your job, see your immediate supervisor. For clarification or questions on anything in this document see your supervisor, the SoHE Human Resources Assistant Dean, or the relevant UW department.
A member of CASI will be in touch with you within the next month to set up a time to meet and welcome you in person.
The materials in this Handbook are intended to supplement the information provided to Preschool Academic Staff by their department.
B. New Staff Orientation Timeline
- Before an employee arrives:
- Set up requisition for telephone and voicemail
- Purchase computer, furniture or any other equipment and have it set up and ready to go
- Send employee information about parking and transportation options
- Send employee the packet of benefits information to peruse
- Send employee important deadlines for teaching classes (syllabus due date, etc.)
- Find alternate access to libraries if necessary
- First day of employment/on the job:
- Benefits Paperwork and direct deposit set up – bring official ID to verify employment eligibility.
- Key(s)
- UW ID card
- Email account
- Voice mail activation
- Bus pass or parking application
- Orient person to the building/office/break room/restrooms/mailroom
- Introduce to Dean’s Office staff and any other key personnel
- Orient to office machines including copiers, postage machine
- First week or beyond:
- Arrange for employee to have SoHE server access and account
- Benefits seminar
- Travel expense report (TER) training
- Campus Cash and food options
- Information about job priorities
- Performance evaluation process
- Set up paperwork for Fleet services
- Give schedule for staff meetings, committee meetings
- Add person to any email distribution lists within department and for SoHE
- Give person SoHE staff directory and UW directory
- Order needed supplies
- Give employee files and procedure manuals needed for the job
- Discuss emergency exit procedures for the office and building, safe places to go
- Orient employee on using the SoHE website, department website, and campus wide website
- Orient employee on the shared calendar network
- Notify employee of ability to use campus network from outside of campus/dial in from home or if needed, VPN for SoHE server access.
- Notify employee of access to athletic facilities on campus
- A month or later:
- Orientation to CASI
C. Academic Staff
Definition: Academic staff consists of all persons (other than university faculty) holding appointments in the School of Human Ecology who are professional and administrative personnel AND who have duties and types of appointments primarily associated with higher education institutions or their administration. These positions are either unique to higher education and/or provide direct support for academic programming and/or develop and implement policies at UW-Madison. (See FP&P 1.03. and ASP&P.) Academic staff are generally designated as instructional, research, or administrative staff.
Governance Participation:
- The Executive Committee of the School may extend the right to participate and vote in school-wide governance to academic staff who have appointments in the School. The Executive committee will determine which academic staff will be granted this right and will determine the form or level of participation.
- The Executive Committee of an academic department may extend the right to participate and vote in departmental governance to academic staff who have appointments in the School. The Executive committee will determine which academic staff will be granted this right and will determine the form or level of participation.
- Academic staff will participate in School governance and administrative advisory/operations committees as designated in Sections III and V of this document.
Source: http://acstaff.wisc.edu/
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some frequently asked questions and their answers. These questions and many more can be found at the Academic Staff Executive Committee website at: http://acstaff.wisc.edu/FAQs.htm
General Questions
- Who are academic staff?
- How many academic staff are there at UW-Madison?
- What is the difference between unclassified and classified staff?
- What are Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP)?
- Where can I get information about disability accommodations and benefits?
- What are the parking benefits for academic staff at UW-Madison?
- How do I take time off for classes (e.g., release time)? Can I get reimbursed for classes?
- What are the federal, state and university policies regarding family and medical leaves of absence for academic staff?
- How can I request a performance review?
- If I have a question about my position (title, length, pay, promotion, etc), whom do I contact for information?
- What steps are needed to be considered for a promotion?
- How are performance reviews related to merit pay?
- Do academic staff have job protection? What are appeal rights for job loss?
- What is a rolling-horizon or indefinite appointment, and how can I get one?
- What is the difference between nonrenewal and layoff?
- How can I informally resolve a problem in the workplace?
- What other resources are available to academic staff who experience a professional or personal problem, but do not want to file a formal complaint?
- Who can I ask about filing a complaint?
- What are the procedures for filing an appeal or grievance?
- How do academic staff have input into University policy decisions?
- What is academic staff governance?
- What is the Academic Staff Assembly?
- How do I get involved with academic staff governance?
Academic staff are professional and administrative employees, excluding faculty, whose job functions "are primarily associated with higher education institutions and their administration," as defined by state statutes [s.36.05(1)].
There are about 6400 academic staff.
Unclassified personnel are primarily associated with institutions of higher education and include faculty, academic staff, graduate assistants, postdoctoral scholars (e.g., postdoctoral fellows and research associates), student hourlies, and limited appointees (those who serve at the discretion of the Chancellor, President, Board of Regents, or another authorized official who made the appointment). Academic staff titles are therefore a subset of unclassified titles.
Classified personnel are employed under the State Civil Service Code. University classified staff positions are similar to positions within other state agencies. Classified benefits differ from those of unclassified staff.
Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) are policies and procedures that apply to all academic staff appointments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Academic Staff Assembly, through its Executive Committee and its Personnel Policies and Procedures Committee (PPPC), makes recommendations to the Chancellor concerning policies and procedures, such as appointments for academic staff. The ASPP can be found at http://acstaff.wisc.edu/ASPP/ASPP2006.pdf.
Contact the ADA representative for your school/college/unit. If you are unsure of your ADA contact, you should contact the disability coordinator in the Equity and Diversity Resource Center for guidance. For more information regarding assistance with disability benefits, refer to http://www.wisc.edu/edrc/index.html.
Academic staff have a variety of parking and transportation options at the UW-Madison campus. Complete details can be found at UW Transportation Services (www.fpm.wisc.edu/trans/)
Contact your supervisor to see if it is possible to obtain release time to take classes during the regular work week. Try to demonstrate how the additional course work would help you in your daily work. Check with your unit to see if it is possible to be reimbursed for taking classes as an academic staff member.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) covers all eligible employees, including LTE's, who need to take time off without pay for a family birth, adoption, placement in foster care, illness of a family member, or employee illness. There are three sources of coverage for family and medical leaves without pay, including federal (FMLA), state (Wisconsin FMLA), and University plans.
The law requires the University to give up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave without pay, with continued health insurance. The law also requires the University to provide the employee with a comparable job upon his or her return. The employee is entitled to the most generous benefits and can use the leave in conjunction with sick leave and vacation time. Please consult your personnel representative, as this issue is complicated.
Performance Reviews, Promotion, and Job Security
Approach your immediate supervisor about having a performance review. All units on the UW-Madison campus are encouraged to develop, implement and maintain review procedures to assist academic staff in assessing their overall performance. The School of Human Ecology’s CASI developed a performance review form in collaboration with the Dean’s office. Ask a CASI member for the form.
A few reasons for requesting regular performance reviews are to provide an opportunity for academic staff members to present an overview of their activities and accomplishments; to provide a regular way to build a record of performance for use in merit recommendations, indefinite appointment review, promotion, and other personnel actions; and to foster communication between supervisors and staff and among staff.
The first person to contact is your administrator or human resources contact person. If s/he can't answer your questions, you can contact your human resources office in your school/division/college. You may also contact the campus Academic Personnel Office.
Check with your administrator or human resources contact for the procedures in your unit. For more detailed information about job promotions, visit the Academic Staff website at www.acstaff.wisc.edu/promo.html.
Salary considerations are not the principal purpose of performance review, but the assignment of an academic staff member's annual merit increment shall take cognizance of the results of performance reviews.
As academic staff, you may be eligible for increased job security through a longer-term appointment. The three types of long-term appointments available to you are a multiple-year appointment, a rolling-horizon appointment, and an indefinite appointment.
If you lose your job, you may file an appeal to have your case reviewed. If you are not satisfied with the decision of your supervisor or dean, you may file an appeal to the Academic Staff Appeals Committee for a hearing or a review. For more detailed information concerning this process, see Chapter 9 of the Academic Staff Polices and Procedures.
The two appointments have greater job security than other appointments for academic staff. Indefinite appointments confer greater job security than rolling horizon appointments. Fixed-term appointments can be terminal, renewable, and rolling-horizon. A rolling horizon is extended daily for a term specified term in the appointment letter, most often 1-, 2-, or 3-year rolling horizons. Thus, a 1-year rolling horizon confers a notice period of 1 year from any date a nonrenewal notice is issued. For layoffs, the notice period can be anywhere from 6 to 12 months, depending on whether layoff results from a funding loss or a budget or program decision.
Indefinite appointments are permanent and have an unlimited term of employment. These appointments are granted to outstanding academic staff and are granted only if the dean can guarantee long-term funding for the position. Layoff notice for this type is 24 months in advance of termination, except in the case of a financial emergency declared by the Board of Regents. In the latter case, the notice period is reduced to 12 months.
The major difference between a "nonrenewal" and a "layoff" is the length of the notice period before termination of employment for the academic staff member.
"Nonrenewal" is the termination of an academic staff member's employment at the end of the current appointment period because of funding loss, a budget or program decision, or unsatisfactory performance, when proper notice of nonrenewal is given under Academic Staff Policies and Procedures (ASPP) 3.04.
"Layoff" is defined as the termination of an academic staff member's employment because of a funding loss or a budget or program decision either prior to the end of the appointment or when proper notice of nonrenewal under ASPP 3.04 cannot be given. See ASPP chapter 5.
Academic Staff Rights
First, discuss the problem with the person directly, with a confidante, or with your supervisor, to gain a fuller perspective.
Seek the advice of someone with knowledge about the issues. For example, if the problem has to do with your job, then speaking with the human resources person in your unit or school/division/college may clarify issues for you.
If the problem is personal, seek one or more of the following: UW Employee Assistance Office, which provides consultation on personal and workplace issues and concerns, or the UW Ombuds Office.
Contact the Academic Personnel Office at 263-2511.
If your problem cannot be resolved amicably, you may appeal or grieve it. Refer to Academic Staff Policies and Procedures book (chapters 3-7) for job-related problems that you may appeal and how to do so.
Contact the Academic Personnel Office (263-2511), which develops and administers UW-Madison personnel policies and programs for faculty, limited appointees, academic staff, employees in training, graduate assistants, and student help. Staff members there also interpret policies and procedures and consult on various employment issues.
You may also contact the Equity and Diversity Resource Center (263-2378).
See ASPP Chapter 7.
Involvement in Governance
Academic staff can serve on joint committees with faculty, Committees on Academic Staff Issues, the Academic Staff Executive Committee, or as an Assembly Representative.
On the UW-Madison campus, "shared governance" means that many important decisions are made jointly by administrative bodies and members of department, college and campus groups. Shared governance is your opportunity to participate directly in decisions that affect the success and well-being of thousands of students, faculty, academic staff, and classified staff. All committee meetings are open to the public (except when in closed session), although it is advisable to ask the chair about attending a meeting.
Wisconsin State Statute 36.09 (4m) codifies the shared governance role of academic staff in the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The Academic Staff Assembly is an elected body, currently 98 districts, that represents the interests of academic staff in governance and policy development at the UW-Madison. The Assembly debates and votes on policy issues affecting academic staff presented by the Academic Staff Executive Committee (ASEC) (see Question #33 for a description of ASEC), members of the Assembly standing committees, or Assembly representatives. Each academic staff member is assigned to a district that is represented in the Assembly by an elected representative. Each district has 35 to 75 members, generally grouped by similar position titles and, where possible, geographic proximity.
There are several ways to become involved in shared governance: attending meetings, joining committees or groups and volunteering.
Academic Staff Policies and Procedures Manual
http://acstaff.wisc.edu/ASPP/ASPP2006.pdf
The manual includes coverage and definitions, information on academic staff appointments, information pertaining to layoffs, disciplinary action, resolution, grievance and complaints, information about the appeals committee, performance reviews, personnel files, outside activities and conflicts of interest, academic staff assembly.
