ADVISORY COUNCIL OF CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES

Minutes of Meeting

May 16, 2002

Marshall University

Huntington, West Virginia

The Advisory Council of Classified Employees met at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, May 16, 2002 in the new Big Green Room of the Cam Henderson Center at Marshall University, Huntington, WV.

MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:

MEMBERS ABSENT

GUESTS:

Representatives from Marshall University: Nina Barrett, Woodrow Edmonds and Sherri Noble.

The Chair, Ms. Pitzer, called the meeting to order and welcomed representatives from Marshall University to the meeting.

Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Ms. Fertig and seconded by Ms. Carney that the minutes of the March 14, 2002 meeting be accepted as presented. The motion was approved.

Liaison Report: Ms. Buttrick joined the ACCE via conference call. She reported that the JEC meeting scheduled for May 20 - 22, 2002 to continue review of the Physical Plant job family has had to be cancelled. Tentative plans are for the committee to meet again on May 29 - 30, 2002 and at a date to be determined in June to finalize the review. The JECs final decisions will be forwarded to the Chancellor to review and to determine whether or not the changes are brought forward to the HEPC for implementation. Mr. Hardee questioned why there was no representation on the JEC from the Physical Plant. Ms. Buttrick replied that would be considered a lobbying effort, that no special effort has been made in the past to include a representative from any particular job family being reviewed and that Human Resource Administrators are trained professionals who know how to do their jobs.

Ms. Pitzer asked if any future training sessions have been scheduled for Institutional Governing Boards. Ms. Buttrick replied that there should be a training session scheduled for Fall 2002 but she doesnt have a date and suggested that Joyce Daniels or Allison Adler be contacted for more information concerning this subject.

With regard to Series 8, nothing has been done since the 2002 Personnel and Legislative Issues Committee last met on March 4, 2002. The committee is waiting for direction from the Chancellor as to when and how to proceed. It is possible that there will be code changes during the 2003 Legislative session.

Ms. Pitzer expressed concerns of the ACCE that most institutions do not have salary policies in place and that it would be helpful if a list of items to be included in such a policy could be developed in order to assure uniformity. There was also concern expressed as to why each institution should have to "reinvent the wheel" and why there cant be one uniform policy statewide. Ms. Buttrick indicated Human Resource Administrators have a training session scheduled for June 2002 and she will discuss this matter with them at that time. Ms. Pitzer asked Ms. Buttrick to confirm that institutional salary policies and merit policies require the Chancellors approval. This was confirmed.

Ms. Buttrick briefly commented on the HEPCs plans for salary increases effective July 1, 2003. Such increases will be based on merit linked to individual employee evaluations. She is working on a report to be presented to the HEPC on 2002-2003 salary increases.

Ms. Pitzer asked Ms. Buttrick to comment on how "hiring above the entry" is being monitored. Ms. Buttrick replied that the HEPC is not monitoring "hiring above the entry" because references to this were taken out of Series 8 and because this is a governance issue rather than a policy issue--accountability is at the campus level.

Ms. Buttrick was asked by Ms. Pitzer if she knew of any reason why the ACCE could not go ahead and set their meeting dates for the 2002-2003 academic year since the HEPC calendar has been set. Ms. Buttrick indicated that since there were no ACCE elections held in April 2002, she did not see any reason why this couldnt be done now.

Legislative Interims are scheduled for May 19 - 21, 2002 in Charleston, WV. At this time LOCEA will be considering WVNETs severance plan. LOCEA is again scheduled to meet during Legislative Interims September 15 - 17, 2002. Mr. Martinelli will work on trying to schedule a meeting, on behalf of the ACCE, with LOCEA and the Governor during this time frame.

Future ACCE Meeting Dates: The ACCE approved of the following dates, times and locations for future ACCE meeting dates: .

06/20/02	WV State College	10:00 a.m.
07/30-31/02	To be determined	To be determined
09/12/02	MU Graduate College	10:00 a.m.
10/17/02	Glenville State College	10:00 a.m.
11/14/02	West Liberty State College	12:00 noon
12/12/02	MU Graduate College	10:00 a.m
01/16/03	MU Graduate College or The Cultural Center	10:00 a.m.
02/20/03	MU Graduate College	10:00 a.m.
03/07/03	State Capitol	10:00 a.m.
04/10/03	WV School of Osteopathic Medicine	12:00 noon
05/15/03	Charleston	10:00 a.m.
06/26/03	To be determined	To be determined

ACCE Presentation to HEPC April 19, 2002: The ACCEs presentation to the HEPC April 19, 2002 at WVU - Institute of Technology was well received. As a result of the presentation, Ms. Pitzer received an inquiry from Robert Morgenstern concerning our comments on the PROMISE Scholarship. Ms. Pitzer assured him that in general, we support the scholarship but have concerns with the overall costs. He understands and shares our concerns. Ms. Pitzer thanked Ms. Crist for allowing us to use the facilities at her campus for working on the presentation.

The presentation will be available via the ACCE web-site after minor updates have been made. Sections of the presentation will be assigned to our various committees for keeping the presentation up-to-date at all times. Ms. Pitzer will begin asking the HEPC in August for a date for the ACCEs next annual presentation in an attempt to allow time for better preparation.

PEIA Inquiry: Ms. Pitzer has tried numerous times to talk to Tom Susman, PEIA Director, about the ACCEs concerns in reference to PEIAs proposed spousal coverage changes and concerning the determination of an employees county of residence but they keep missing each others telephone calls. Once they do have an opportunity to talk, Ms. Pitzer will relay any updated information to ACCE members via the list-serve.

Video-Conference: Ms. Pitzer sent a questionnaire to Instructional Technology representatives at each campus about the possibility of a state-wide video conference on higher education issues concerning classified employees to be sponsored by the ACCE on August 1, 2002. Most campuses have responded positively to date. The recommendation has been made that Marshall University be the host site. ACCE representatives were encouraged to work with their IT representatives in determining a location on each campus for classified staff to be able to participate in the video conference.

A committee consisting of Paul Martinelli, Chris Gray, Linda Carney, Violet Mosser, and Sandy Crist will develop a letter of invitation to panelists for participation in the video-conference. The letter of invitation will be posted to the list-serve next week for ACCE approval. The suggested invitation list will include the Governor, the Chancellor, the HEPC Chair, Bruce Walker, Kay Goodwin, legislative leaders, Tom Susman, a representative from TIAA-CREF, and a representative from the State Teachers Retirement System.

A committee consisting of Zac Wycherley, Fred Hardee, Betsy Crouch, Jenny Fertig, and Lisa Reel will develop 15  20 questions to be presented to panelists during the video-conference.

A committee consisting of Valeria Barfield, Barbara Neuman, Raquel Yerbury, and Harper Grimm will develop a letter to send to campus Presidents asking for their approval for classified employees to participate in the video-conference.

Ms. Pitzer and Ms. Neal will work on coordinating the event and Ms. Pitzer will serve as the moderator.

ACCE Retreat: Heritage Farm and Museum, located in Huntington, WV, is being considered as the location for the ACCEs annual retreat scheduled to be held July 30 - 31, 2002. Suggested agenda items for the retreat include: Development of a Legislative Agenda, Series 8, Salary Schedule, ACCE Presentation Update, Development of New ACCE Member Orientation Program, and Committee Appointments. Additional agenda items should be emailed to Ms. Pitzer.

Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 4:57 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

STEPHANIE A. NEAL
SECRETARY

AMY PITZER
CHAIR