P&S Staff Support Committee
Report of Activities, 2007-08
Mission: To discuss and assist P&S staff with concerns and serve as liaisons for P&S staff to the Dean’s Office and the P&S Council. Eight meetings have been held, two more are scheduled for this academic year.
Committee Membership: (One rep from each academic department; one each from: dean’s office, IT services, student services, and the teacher education program); ex-officio from CHS administration and college HR officer.
Carolyn ErslandTara Fisher
Lisa GatesAnn Guddall
Carolyn HoltHina Patel
Keith SwansonBreanna Wetzler
Sharon WirthMarsha Wissink
Ex-officio: Jackie Blount; Annette Jaehrling
Major Accomplishments and Significant Challenges:
In the spring of 2007, the committee requested membership be expanded as listed above. Prior to this, the representation was only from the six academic departments leaving some P&S staff unrepresented. Fall of 2007, the committee began operating with a full membership as listed. Official approval of this structure will come as new governance documents for the college are developed and approved.
The committee has been gathering information about how each department or unit handles professional development funds for P&S staff. College funds for this purpose have been frozen for several years. The committee also looked at how each department handles performance evaluations. It is our understanding that the P&S Council will be coming forward with a recommendation on performance evaluations and that a uniform approach will be suggested for use university-wide. These two topics were concerns expressed by CHS P&S staff in a brief on-line survey the committee conducted in the spring of 2006.
Another concern from the survey was communication/contact with other P&S staff, the P&S Council and CHS administration. To enhance communication, the committee has set up a web site, established the current ex-officio structure, expanded the committee membership as listed and hosted two P&S college-wide open forums (one in 2007 and another in 2008). We have had excellent attendance at the forum meetings with the attendance in Feb, 2008 at 39.
At the February forum meeting, the committee was given the opportunity of selecting a P&S staff representative for the Budget Advisory Committee. Application process and selection is currently underway for filling this position.
A budget for the committee continues to be a challenge. Allocation this year was $300. This amount was dispersed for food at the open forum meeting. Committee members have suggested bringing in a speaker for a professional development meeting, but committee funds are not currently available so we have been unable to pursue this suggestion.
Next Steps:
In the communication area, the committee has approved exploring the addition of an ex-officio position for a member of the P&S Council. This would enhance our communication with this important group. The two groups have many overlapping interests and it is vital that communication between the two groups be strong. In the two years the committee has existed, we have learned that this committee is unique to the College of Human Sciences. The committee acknowledges the foresight of the CHS administration in establishing the committee and in establishing a communication channel with the P&S staff of the college. Additionally in the area of communication, the committee will explore the use of the newly established CHS Intranet. It appears that this avenue can provide an additional and efficient communication option between committee members and other P&S staff as well as between committee members. We look forward to learning more about the intranet usage and how it can facilitate communication. Thirdly, in the communication area, the committee will continue to learn about the recent Towers Perrin consultant report and the implementation of the committee recommendations.
The committee is also in the process of requesting that CHS P&S data be extrapolated from the spring 2007 survey done by the P&S Council. This survey was extensive and could provide valuable information about the CHS P&S staff. It would be an efficient use of time and money resources if this segment of the data could be made available to the committee. This data would be used to guide future activities of the committee.