Suggestion: 1013

Subject: Student Peoplesoft Calendar

Forwarded to: Registrar

It would be nice if the pages (especially on the calendar would be configured so that they would print showing the whole thing! No matter how I try to print it, the right side of the pages are cut off.

No response received.

Suggestion: 1015

Subject: Staff/Salaries/Morale

Forwarded to: HR Director

This has been said before, but as usual, the response tap-dances around the issue and attempts to make the staff "feel better" about the problems that are occurring.

I find it odd that the university--an educational institution--encourages its staff to continue their educations and better themselves, but then will ignore those degrees when it comes to compensation because the position doesn't necessarily require that degree. So what? The employee has taken the initiative and put in the hard work to earn the degree, yet is not rewarded at all. Any type of monetary compensation would help the problem.

HR claims that people are leaving the university because they are earning their degrees and moving on. Shouldn't that be a point of concern for the university? Why is it not able to retain educated employees? Why are the employees moving because they got another job? Did the employee move because they got the job, or get the job because they were moving? Those are two separate issues. The first suggests a problem with the university — which the university is not willing to admit. The other is the occurrence that the university claims.

The university recently did an equity study in an effort to fix problems in the pay plans, but how many of the hard-working devoted employees actually got more than a 3% raise—either because (1) supposedly, other positions in the state weren’t paying more, or because (2) there wasn’t a comparable position, so the pay must be right... while other higher-ups got a significantly higher increase. That does nothing for morale and the university continues to turn a blind eye and claim no foul.

The university needs to look into compensating based on longevity with the university--not just in a particular position--when doing the increases. A $20/month increase for longevity every two years doesn't cut it when employees could go work elsewhere for considerable higher amounts of money. Until the university admits that there is a problem, it will continue to lose great hard-working employees who leave the university to do the same job, elsewhere, for more money.

Response: We are very fortunate here at the university that administration encourages staff to continue their education. Since Fall 06 there have been 25 employees that have received college release time to attend classes during work hours for a total of 1,024 hours. In addition, since Fall 06 the university has provided $71,519 in employee scholarships for employees to attend classes. Every year during commencement we have several employees who walk the stage because they have earned their degrees. The degree not only provides the employee promotional opportunities here at the university but also provides employment opportunities elsewhere. We do not stipulate that the employee pay back the university for the scholarships or release time granted if they leave the university as some companies do, but encourage professional development for our employees.

The general compensation philosophy is to fairly compensate staff to attract, employ and retain qualified individuals. In keeping with this philosophy, a market analysis and turnover analysis is conducted biennially to identify UHV’s relationship to the external market. The budget committee looks at years in the position when determining market pay adjustments. The overall average staff adjustment for FY08 was approximately 4.4% after the market analysis was conducted, and the overall pay plan was adjusted 3%. In addition, the state of Texas awards $20/month for every two years of service with the state. For example, if you have 6 years of service with the state, an employee receives $60.00 a month or an additional $720.00 a year.

Higher education cannot compete with private industry in wages, but we do offer a very competitive benefits package and additional benefits that many employers do not. I would encourage you to speak to your supervisor if you have a particular concern with your own wage here at the university.

Suggestion: 1016

Subject: Internet Access

Forwarded to: Technology Director

Is it possible for UHV to pay for all or part of the cost of internet service for exempt employees who do work from home. I recently became an exempt employee and would like to be able to check out a laptop to check my emails or do other work from home but without internet service this is not possible. I do not own a home computer so do not have internet. Thank you for your consideration.

Secondly, yes, it is possible for you to get reimbursed for the cost of Internet services from home under the provisions of UHV Policy A-16, PERSONAL USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES AND COMMUNICATION ALLOWANCES. Look for the section titled "TELECOMMUNICATIONS LINE AT EMPLOYEE’S RESIDENCE" that includes the following stipulations:

"If an employee is authorized by the department head for business use of a telecommunications line at his/or her residence, the employee may be reimbursed by the University for the business-related prorated share of the costs of the line, less any taxes assessed. All such requests must be approved in advance by the President or Vice President and are to be funded from the requesting departments cost center."

In the same policy, there are provisions for acquiring other devices that could give you access to Internet services without having to install a physical line to your residence. There are multiple options available with today's technology, so you may want to contact the Help Desk in Information Technology to discuss what options may work best for you before you pursue the request/approval process.

Remember, you'll need to get the appropriate approvals, but it is possible.

Suggestion: 1017

Subject: Printing Problem

Forwarded to: Web Manager

I am still frustrated because when I print a page from the UHV home page, the words run off the page on the right side. PLEASE, please size the page so that we can receive all the information, without having to guess what the last word or two on every line is. I just printed the "Office of the President" information, and guess what?

Response: See response to Suggestion 1013 above. Thank you.

Response: The Office of Student and Academic Services along with Financial Aid is developing a "One Stop Shop" for students to use during registration. In the near future students will go to one place to have all their questions related to admissions, registration, and financial aid answered. In the meantime, I recommend that your daughter make an appointment this semester with an academic advisor for her major field. The advisor can assist her in planning her spring course schedule, her degree plan (the degree plan will help her understand needed courses for graduation) and answer additional questions. The advantage of meeting with an academic advisor now, will give her plenty of time and avoid the rush during registration.

We do want your daughter to come to UHV and are certainly willing to help her achieve her degree.

Response: New Position requests are normally reviewed during the annual budget cycle by the budget committee. Department heads requesting a new position outside the budget cycle would first need the approval from their Cabinet level supervisor before sending the request to the budget committee for review. The request would require a justification for why the request is being made outside the normal cycle, and a source of funding for the request. Please note that sometimes new positions approved during the normal budget cycle are not advertised until a later date giving the impression it was just approved.

Response: We are investigating single-sign-on applications at this time and hope to have that service available next spring. Portals are another matter, and will take longer to select and implement, but we'll keep working on that after we get the more critical single-sign-on issue resolved.

Response: The funds needed to purchase this system were approved in last year's budget hearing for purchase this fiscal year, however, the position needed to implement and support this system was not approved. We are asking the Budget Committee to reconsider this request.

Response: Thank you for sharing this observation. I will discuss your observation with the Deans who will work with the UHV faculty on improving testing strategies and monitoring test administration procedures.