Vanderbilt University Register: University Staff Advisory Council Notes

The University Staff Advisory Council -- the representative body of the University's more than 3,000 full- and part-time non-Medical Center employees -- meets in Room 189 of the Sarratt Student Center on the second Tuesday of each month from 8:30 to 10 a.m., with the exception of July. Staff members are invited to attend all meetings.

USAC Committee Reports

The Executive Committee reported that a statement to express the USAC's thanks to University administrators for their work on changes to the Education Benefit Policy has been prepared. Additionally, the USAC president and vice president met with the associate vice chancellor for administration to express USAC members' concerns regarding the elimination of "cross-parking" during student breaks and the summer semester. Discussion about this issue will continue.

The Ad Hoc Committee that was formed to follow up on previous council recommendations continued discussion about how to address issues such as the status of staff training and career development, classification and compensation, and other previous recommendations. The committee will ask to meet with the associate vice chancellor for Human Resource Services to follow-up on the recommendations.

University Committees

The Traffic and Parking Committee reported that discussion to improve the registration process continues. Regular monthly meetings of this committee have been scheduled for the upcoming year.

Old Business

Vice Chancellor Lauren Brisky reported that work continues on the development of departmental action plans in response to the Staff Satisfaction Survey. Task forces may also be formed to focus on institutional-wide issues along with the various departmental committees that are developing action plans.

New Business

Jennifer Stein and Shirley Johnson from Human Resource Services presented information about training programs available at Vanderbilt. There are four training series designed for different audiences and consisting of several programs each:

Leadership Series

Business and Interpersonal Skills Series

Administrative Support Series

Individual Growth and Support Series

Additional services available from Employment Practices include customized training, department needs assessment, meeting facilitation, retreat planning and facilitation, and team building. For more information, call 2-8320 or visit www.vanderbilt.edu/HRS/hrs.htm.

Follow-up questions and concerns from council members pertained to the following areas: Re-establishing training programs for grant writing and grant management, especially for people who are new to these functions; Process for identifying training needs for staff members; Establishment of a training information clearinghouse; Development of online registration for New Staff Orientation; USAC President Phil McGovern then led a council discussion on identity theft and the protection of personal private information by the University. Several issues related to these topics were identified as being of concern to council members, including: Is the personal private information that staff members must provide to entities on campus appropriate and necessary? What happens to personal private information once it is obtained? How is this information protected? Should there be a written policy not to release or transmit the personal private information of staff members to third parties or at a minimum to require written permission prior to releasing or transmitting personal private information to third parties? What unique identifier could/should be used in lieu of Social Security numbers?

Votes

A motion was made that the statement to express the USAC's thanks to University administrators for their work on changes to the Education Benefit Policy be approved. The motion was seconded, voted on, and accepted by the USAC. The statement will be sent to University administration.

Next Meeting: Tuesday, Feb. 12, Room 189, Sarratt