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Unclassified Personnel Advisory Committee
August 11, 2009

Present: Stephen Gordon, Chair; Amy Carito, Lindsay Carpenter, Vanessa Cummings, Marlene Diers, Pete Haverkos, Kerri Jackson, Sarah McNitt, Karen O’Hara, Kelly Phillips, Mark Walker
Special Guest: Dawn Fahner, Director, Benefit Services
The meeting was called to order by Steve Gordon at 9am.

Special Guest: Dawn Fahner
Dawn reported that the Benefits Committee met with the President’s Executive Council (PEC) and developed a prioritized list of items that might be part of any future actions to reduce costs; no recommendations were submitted at this time.
Several changes will go into effect in January, 2010:

• Part-time employees and graduate students who had opted to purchase Miami health insurance plans will be transitioned off to other plans. Employees will move by January, 2010, and graduate students will move by the start of the 2010-2011 academic year.
• The premium cap will rise from 20% to 25%. This change mainly affects the highest tier of salaried personnel.
• For High Deductible plan there are no changes
• The traditional health plan will see the following changes:
• Deductibles of $250 for individuals and $500 for families will be paid before co-insurance percentages are applied. Typically this covers things like MRIs, lab tests, X-rays, and hospital stays.
• Drug plans will remain at $10 for generics but will increase from $30 to $35 and from $50 to $60 for second and third level prescriptions.
• A higher co-payment of $35 will be applied when visiting specialists such as oncologists or cardiologists. Visits to General Practitioners, Family Practice, etc. will remain at $25.

Informational sessions will be scheduled for September. Kelly will invite CPAC and UPAC to attend a special joint meeting around August 31 or September 1. During October’s Open Enrollment there will be additional help available, including computer lab sessions.
The UPAC July Business Meeting minutes were approved.

Academic Personnel Update (Kelly Phillips on behalf of Janet Cox)

• Kelly reported that the MUH open forum took place August 7 and was well-received. The MUM open forum was underway today (Janet Cox & Sarah Frye in attendance). The two Oxford forums were scheduled for August 12 & 13. Each forum will have a note-taker who will supply Mark Walker with notes for the UPAC website.

Personnel Update (Kelly Phillips)

• The benefit audit conducted by HCS closes on August 17. If an employee fails to submit documentation by then, his or her dependents will be removed from Miami’s insurance coverage.
• The background check policy for new hires has been implemented. Kelly noted that the data collected from the background check goes to HR and Academic Personnel, not the hiring department.
• Although the BMV check policy has been in place for some time, checks for employees who operate a university vehicle are being done more routinely now.
• The PeopleAdmin system is still being worked on for academic personnel; it is already operational for classified and unclassified postings. Technological assistance is available to those who need it.
• Summer Sensations still has a few offerings available for August.
  

Marlene Diers noted that EHWB Fall Fitness begins on August 24. Other EHWB news:

• Morning fitness room hours have been reduced
• A personal interest survey is being sent to employees to help plan programming
• Seasonal flu shots (not H1N1) will be offered at Oxford on Oct. 5 & 26, at MUH on Oct. 28, and at MUM on Oct. 29
• Field Day will take place from 11 am – 4 pm on Oct. 14, with a rain date of Oct. 21

Senate Representative (Anne Schauer)
No report

Academic Policy Representative (Pete Haverkos)
No report

Benefits (Ted Pickerill)
No report; see earlier remarks by Dawn Fahner and Kelly Phillips

Networking (Sarah McNitt)
No report; Amy Carito volunteered to help Sarah with UPAC luncheons. Sarah asked that members e-mail her with ideas for guest speakers (mcnittsa@muohio.edu).

Communications (Steve Gordon)
Marlene volunteered to help with the newsletter.

Old Business
Open Forums: Steve asked that UPAC members take notes at the forums they attend and pass those along to Mark to be published on the UPAC website. Also, Janet Cox has asked that upcoming UPAC meetings be listed on the website.

New Business
Enrollment Issues. Members discussed Miami’s enrollment numbers for the coming year, which should be determined by September 15. Several themes were identified:

• UPAC should avoid criticizing the operations of Admissions (or any other office), particularly without sufficient background on what strategies have already been tried.
• It would be helpful for UPAC to hear from key individuals from Admissions, University Communications, PEC, Financial Aid, etc. who can provide relevant details on enrollment issues. Kelly offered to contact Steve Snyder to put UPAC in touch with the right person. A Brown Bag luncheon was suggested.
• The Oxford campus image of a tradition-bound ‘Public Ivy’ may be outdated in today’s economy and could account for our losing students to Ohio State, UC, Notre Dame, etc.
• Miami offers many things that compare favorably to other universities (e.g. Farmer School of Business); how can we build upon these strengths and improve upon areas of weakness?

Volunteer(s) to coordinate with Anita Sackenheim - CPAC-Holiday Project. Vanessa Cummings, Lindsay Carpenter, and Marlene Diers offered to help with the Holiday Project. Beverly Flaig is temporarily filling in for Anita Sackenheim.

Other Agenda Items:
Next working meeting: August 25
Next business meeting: September 8 (group photo will be taken if weather is favorable)

 

Respectfully submitted

Karen O’Hara