Sick Leave Donation Pool

It takes new faculty hires about three years to save up enough sick leave to cover an extended family care-giving leave. In the meanwhile, many faculty members who have been here for years have accrued myriad sick leave hours they will never use. This new program allows those with leave to donate into a common pool, which eligible MSU faculty and staff can draw on as needed (the previous donated sick leave model allowed for “direct grants” of leave only, from one named donator to one named recipient). The University Family Advocate and Human Resources are working together to institute this program promptly. A tool kit on implementing this program and all our work-life programs will be created and circulated to all campuses by the Family Advocate.

What we will do

What we have done so far

Hypothesized Need-support

Create family caregiving sick leave donation pool

• Worked with HR/Campus Task Force to revise policy.
• Publicized program in meetings with all Deans and Department Heads.
• Donation Pool Policy reviewed by University Council Dec 5, 2012.
• Policy revision approved with target implementation date of 2/1/13.
  Click Here to View HR Announcement
• Work with Payroll to set up infrastructure and forms for donation to pool.
• Brainstorm P.R. and communications to campus community about the “What, why and how” of a sick leave donation pool.
• Soliciting donations of sick leave hours. Please donate today! Contact us!
• Linking those in need to support from the pool. Contact us for information.

Relatedness
Autonomy

Modified Duties for Family Caregiving Leave

We will provide course releases to women in STEM/SBS who are a primary caretaker of a newly adopted child, newborn, sick elder, or other family member. The Family Advocate will take primary responsibility for leading the implementation of this program and tracking data. The Provost, with the assistance of her Dean’s Council, is committed to offering this program to non-STEM/SBS faculty. Furthermore, if successful in bringing about need-support for faculty the Associated Faculty of MSU are committed to assisting the adoption of this program into faculty union contracts.

Create modified duties policy and program for family caregiving leave (course releases)

• Publicized policy/program in meetings with all Deans and Department Heads.
• Created handout to illustrate this and other work-life policies and programs on campus.
• Publicized program in meetings with, or information provided to, on campus interview candidates for Tenure Track faculty jobs.
• Create form to request Modified Duties.
• Grant and support Modified Duty requests.
• Draft formal policy for review by Implementation Team.
• Policy ready for bargaining in AFMSU contract negotiations.
• Policy adopted.
• Policy communicated to all faculty on campus.
• Helping faculty take advantage of the policy. Contact us for information!

Relatedness
Autonomy
Competence

Dual Career Community Placement Liaison

An “Off Campus Placement Liaison” will support dual career couples (for a woman in STEM/SBS and indeed all partners) where the non-MSU partner seeks employment off campus. The Placement Liaison will work throughout the year to build relationships in the community with the goal of facilitating on-campus and off-campus employment opportunities to partners. The liaison will create and manage a web-based network similar to those used elsewhere (i.e. the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium). The service subscribers will include departments on all MSU campuses, local businesses and non-profit organizations.

Create dual career community placement liaison

• Publicized position in meetings with all Deans and Department Heads.
• Met with HR to discuss the need for and nature of the position.
• Meet with candidates interviewing for the position.
• Hire Liaison.
• Contact Tricia Today: Call: (406) 994-5527 or email tricia.wimbish@montana.edu
• Build informative dual career website.
• Support Liaison to be maximally helpful to partners of new TT hires coming in Fall 2013.
• Liaison integrated into all searches on campus.

Relatedness
Autonomy

Faculty Partner Placement Bridge Program

Here we create the opportunity for an accompanying faculty partner to be appointed to a three year “bridge” position within the appropriate department, to provide time for the partner to build relationships with colleagues and build their research program in a direction compatible with the department’s focus. This program is eligible to new hires and current faculty in which either the faculty person or the bridge partner is a woman in STEM/SBS, and ideally, will be made widely available to all departments and academic partners, especially those that enhance diversity. 

New partner placement Bridge Program for faculty partners of women in STEM/SBS

• Publicized policy in meetings with all Deans and Department Heads.
• Publicized policy in meetings with, or information provided to, on campus interview candidates for Tenure Track faculty jobs – particularly women in STEM/SBS.
• Created process and accompanying form to facilitate speedy application for Bridge funding by departments working to successfully complete an offer to a woman in STEM/SBS position.
• Process/form disseminated by Dean’s Council.
• Now reviewing proposals and transforming through hires! Apply today!
• Encouraging proactive thinking at institutional level about how to extend commitment to academic partner placement through Bridge funding beyond the life of ADVANCE.

Relatedness
Autonomy

Family Care Network

With the guidance of the MSU Child Development Center Director and input from the University Family Advocate, we will hire a part-time student worker to establish and manage a Family Care Network. The goal of this network is to coordinate the family care needs of all faculty, with priority to women faculty in STEM and SBS. We will establish a Family Care Network to:

• Provide a link between childcare and eldercare caregivers and MSU employees with need.
• Provide a list of on-call caregivers, who could care for a sick child on short notice or for children when school is not in session. This could include information about other employees who have used the person as a caregiver so that a quick reference call to a fellow MSU employee could be made.
• Provide a link among employees to enable the creation of small family-care cooperatives.
• Work with community partners to create a camp for school-aged children for non-school days

Create “Family Care Network”

• Research other programs to model ours on.
• Work with Director of the Child Development Center to create program and develop job announcement for manager of Network.
• List job, solicit applications from targeted candidates.
• Hire Network manager.
• Develop process to facilitate on-going collection of provider names and references.
• Work with Family Care Network manager to develop link to ADVANCE website and “hotline” for use by those needing short notice care.
• Work with Network manager and CDC Director to develop messaging about how the FCNetwork works, the nature of the references provided, obligations of parents and care providers, payment process, etc.
• Advertise and communicate the availability of the network to the campus community.
• Connecting the Network to those on campus. Use the Network today!

Relatedness
Autonomy
Competence

Opt out of Stop-the-Clock Policy Change

Currently at MSU tenure clock stoppage is on an “opt in” basis – the faculty member must know about and initiate the request for a revised schedule. An “opt out” program would treat a one-year clock stoppage as the default, and thus “normal” (and not stigmatized). The faculty member could opt out by setting their clock ahead (i.e. back to what it was originally) at a later date if they so choose. This puts the faculty member who has experienced a major life transition in what feels more like a position of strength, as opposed to a position of weakness (asking for “extra” time for tenure review). Deans and Department Heads will be informed about the value of this policy, the expectations that go along with a revised tenure schedule and how to initiate conversations regarding tenure schedule modifications. AFMSU is committed to working with us to revise and sustain this policy in contract language.

Change tenure clock extension policy from “opt-in” to “opt-out.” 

• Publicized need for policy change in meetings with all Deans and Department Heads.
• Draft formal policy for review by Implementation Team.
• Policy ready for bargaining in AFMSU contract negotiations.
• Policy adopted.
• Create work-life integration tool kit.
• Policy change communicated to all faculty via work-life integration tool kit. Contact us for information!

Autonomy