CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES
March 9, 2005

Roll Call

• Matt Blazicevich
• Bob O'Driscoll
• Eileen Baker
• Sara France
• Sheron McIlhattan
• Dawn Watkins
• Bonnie White
• Ray Byerly
• Dan McGuire
• Clara Sprague
• Carol Shannon
• apologies for absence were received from Genevieve Burmeister, Susan Alt and Kerry Evans

MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Apologies for Absence - February - Clara Sprague.

OLD BUSINESS

• CEPAC budget amendment. At a recent meeting of CEPAC officers with President Gamble, the President reiterated that no guess or guarantee could be made as to the outcome of the presentation of CEPAC's bare bones operations and .75 FTE budget amendment to UPBAC. However, such presentation will be made as appropriate to the UPBAC schedule.
• Constituent communications - custom mailing list. Sara France reported that the custom mailing list of non-email-using constituents is ready for use.
• Open House invitation follow up. Sara France reported having commenced work on this project.
• Commissioner of Higher Education/Regents invitations. No additional ideas were oferred, beyond those discussed last month. Sara France will commence formulation of the itinerary for April 28, working with the other groups meeting with the Commissioner. CEPAC agreed that the focus of the day should be on demonstrating the practice of shared governance at MSU-Bozeman.
• Electronic Elections. Sara France acknowledged Kerry Evans' and Allen Porter's hard work in bringing CEPAC's first electronic election to fruition. Kerry, Allen and Sara have finalized the policy, procedure and process and are ready with information to disseminate to the electorate tomorrow. Nominations will run March 23 and 24, and final voting March 30 and 31. Sara explained the process and asked for members' assistance in sending a pre-prepared email to nominees on March 25. Sara will follow up to obtain volunteers.
• By Laws. CEPAC approved the draft By Laws, electronically, last month and they have been forwarded to Personnel and Payroll Services for commencement of the adoption process, including a period of public input.
• Research Center Administrative Associates' meeting in Bozeman, March 8 2005. Bonnie White, Genevieve Burmeister, Bob O'Driscoll and Sara France reported having met with seven classified Research Center employees from across the state during their professional conference, in Bozeman, yesterday. It was a very worthwhile meeting and a good exchange of information took place, highlighting the experiences of Bozeman employees working remotely. Sara will follow up with the Research Center staff, and also provide more information to CEPAC members.
• CEPAC input into ITC review. Eileen Baker, Bonnie White, Genevieve Burmeister, Bob O'Driscoll and Sara France met with Linda Fleit, Edutech International on February 28. Edutech International (from Connecticut) whose sole function is IT in higher education. It has no affiliation to any IT product or service provider. A useful discussion ensued regarding CEPAC members' experience of IT services on campus (not necessarily provided by ITC). The focus included issues associated with paying for training in basic computer programs, differing levels of IT experience/training among departmental staff across campus, and the problems of ITC being expected to continue to provide increased service on dwindling resources.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Committee-related discussion:
Third Party Administrator Task Force. Janae Heap, member of the Third Party Administrator Task Force, had sent an update, and Dawn Watkins spoke of continued meetings with Allegiance every other week. Hold ups in the selection of hospital network members has delayed the publication of the provider list on the OCHE web site. However, Personnel and Payroll Services will shortly publish the Bozeman provider list via its web site. A discussion took place regarding Allegiance's proposed continued use of SSN rather than GID. The SSN will not appear on the membership card, but will play a role in the claims process. Dawn has repeatedly questioned this practice and will follow up again, asking for a description of the security processes Allegiance has in place, and establishment of the reasons why a GID cannot be substituted.

Dependent Health Insurance Premium Fee Waiver. Janae Heap, member of IUBC, had sent an update and Dawn Watkins reported that IUBC will vote tomorrow on recommending the proposed two year pilot program to the Commissioner. If approved by IUBC and the Commissioner, the issue will progress to the Regents this month. The pilot provides for employees making less than $30,000 annually (MSU income only, and without reference to spousal earnings) to apply for a waiver of the premium to cover dependent children ($60-100 per head). Funding for this pilot comes from the benefits pool.

Health Insurance Premiums. Dawn Watkins reported no premium increase, other than 4% for retirees.

Colonoscopy. Janae Heal, member of IUBC, had sent an update and Dawn Watkins reported that discussion of a plan to cover colonoscopy is under way. Preliminary ideas include the first free colonoscopy at aged 50; the regularity of screening thereafter is still under review.

Common Law Health Coverage. Montana recognises common law partners, and yet the current MUS health insurance policy does not provide coverage to unmarried couples. Dawn Watkins spoke of a proposal, on which IUBC will vote tomorrow, under which employees could cover unrelated adults via their health insurance eligibility. It is possible, if passed, that this plan will be presented to the Regents as soon as this month.

Fitness Center Renovations - review of information/communications. Bob O'Driscoll reported receiving a letter from President Gamble (2/9/05) apologizing for the inadequacy of opportunity for staff input into the Fitness Center project and providing for this to now take place. Sheron McIlhattan represented the classified staff at various subsequent meetings with the Design Committee and reported the details of her findings. Concerns communicated to Sheron focused mainly on changing rooms, showers, locker space, and the proposed use of a cool water swimming pool for the Young at Heart program. CEPAC agreed that our constituents' concerns have been met by the design now being offered. The only exception being the pool, but accommodations appear to be being researched here too. CEPAC has no clear understanding of how the $197,000 associated price tag will be funded, beyond the $100,000 already committed by the Administration. Further, we have no information regarding future employee user fees. CEPAC members stressed they could not support any additional financial burden, associated with this project, being placed upon the student body. Bob will attend University Governance Council this afternoon to give feedback, and to hear faculty and professional opinions. CEPAC's response to the President will be delivered tomorrow. It was agreed that the speedy solution of this problem indicates how well shared governance is working at MSU-Bozeman.

Parking. Differing experiences were reported related to the offering and receiving of input on the proposed parking garage project, but a general feeling of confusion was expressed. Bob O'Driscoll will raise the issue at University Governance Council Steering Committee meeting tomorrow. Although CEPAC is currently an exofficio member, we can obtain input from faculty, professionals and students via this venue.

NEW BUSINESS

President Gamble had shared with CEPAC officers a draft proposal of a professional employee compensation document. This was discussed briefly and any input will be forwarded to the President before the Regents' meeting.

At 11:20 am, having run out of time, the remaining agenda items were deferred until April, or electronic communication, and the meeting closed.