To:
Scott Ashford
From: Career-Life Balance Ad-Hoc Committee
Date:
03/24/12
The Career-Life Balance Ad-hoc committee has concluded its task and we report here on our findings
and provide suggestions for improvement where appropriate. As we began addressing the various
concerns, we became aware of an initiative on campus lead by the President’s Committee on the Status
of Women (PCSOW) aimed at developing a Work Life Balance Tool Kit similar to the University of
California at Berkeley’s “Creating a Family Friendly Department: Chairs and Deans Tool Kit”. A graduate
student has been hired to collect and compile data on OSU’s Work Life Balance Policies for Tenure and
Tenure-Track Faculty and the overarching goal is to use the Berkeley model to develop a similar
document for Oregon State University (OSU). After meeting with Michelle Kutzler (OSU Animal Science)
and Mariette Brouwers (with OSU Counseling and Psychological Services) from the PCOSW, it became
clear that many of the issues brought up regarding various employee policies are being addressed by
this group. However, at this point, the committee is focusing on professorial faculty, and will then move
on to staff and professional faculty at a later stage. The PCOSW representatives were pleased that the
COE is putting some effort towards addressing career-life balance issues and felt that our exercise (and
that it is a COE priority) would help them make a stronger case when reporting back to the President the Tool-kit is slated to be completed in May 2012. A draft version of this document is included, with
the stipulation that it not be distributed further until the final draft becomes available in May 2012.
In addressing issues below, we refer to this document in several places.
The Career-Life Balance web survey was accessible to COE employees for 2 weeks in February, 2012. We
received 24 comments from 23 individuals. In addition, we met with new faculty (chosen from a list of
recent hires provided by HR) in the various schools and solicited their input to our review.
Shortly after the comment period ended we categorized the comments and established a “hit list” of
issues that received most attention both via the web form and from interviews with new faculty. The list
follows below (in order of most attention received). A copy of the submitted comments is included with
this report.
1. The parking situation on campus
This is a huge problem for many COE employees and received by far the most comments.
Among the suggestions for how to solve this were
A.
Short term solutions implementable immediately:
I.
Extend faculty/staff parking hours to 7-7 PM, 7 days a week.
pros: allow faculty to come to campus on weekends and after "errands" around 4-5 and
park again.
cons: minor impact of after hour student parking.
II.
Provide more faculty/staff parking by allocating spaces currently on student lots (for
example on SW Campus Way (between 11th and 14th St.) to accommodate faculty
growth and recent loss of faculty/staff parking due to construction and disabled spaces.
pros: simple, replaces lost spaces.
cons: minor reduction in student parking near buildings.
B.
Mid-term solutions implementable now while long-term solutions are discussed:
I.
Allocate 6-10 spaces per parking lot to departments and let them use some sort of pass
plan.
pros: May allow for recurring trips as well as errands
cons: Additional burden on dept to manage parking; potentially expensive
II.
Allocate short term spaces in each lot based on some centralized system (like the one
proposed by Tom Dietterich)
pros: Helps with occasional “errands” (doctor’s appt, childcare etc.)
cons: Complicated allocation; not helpful for “recurring” trips, like off-site meetings
III.
Have COE “pay” for a small number of slots near many buildings. Then COE faculty/staff
can make daily reservations for these based on need.
pros: Helps with occasional “errands” (doctor’s appt, childcare etc.)
cons: not helpful for “recurring” trips, like off-site meetings; varying degree of complexity
C.
Comprehensive solutions to accommodate growth (need time for proper study):
(all three of these need to be paired with A.I: 7-7 parking for 7 days)
I.
Move all student parking to Stadium, and increase shuttle service. This frees parking in
key areas (Campus Way and around COAS) to additional faculty/staff parking.
pros: accommodate significant growth in faculty/staff (new faculty, postdocs, researchers,
support staff numbers are significantly higher than when parking allocations were
introduced).
cons: addresses capacity, but not allocation.
II.
Split lots into different price tiers. For example, tier 1 is at current prices, tier 2 is more
(double?) for about the closest 30% slots, tier 3 is the most expensive for about 10% of
the slots.
pros: reduce congestion by pricing. Economics 101
cons: more expensive parking; Will have 2*3 = 6 types of passes.
III.
Introduce multiple types of permits. Currently, we have student and faculty/staff. You
can go to 3 or 4 types, like in many other institutions (in many institutions, they have 56 categories):
•
•
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Option 1:
Student
Staff
Faculty
•
•
•
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Option 2:
Student
Graduate student
Staff
Faculty
Option 3:
•
•
•
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pros: Provide granularity to permits, differentiate U/G & Grad students; allow faculty with
many off-site meetings (HP etc.) not to compete with folks with an 8-4 schedule.
cons: Significant change to current policy. Potentially sensitive and/or divisive.
2. Easier access to and more COE support for participation in exercise and fitness programs
The committee feels that this can be challenging to address at the College level – in general:
Suggestions for formal time allocation for faculty to exercise, and more support in general for
participation in Faculty Staff Fitness (FSF) programs is probably difficult to implement and
manage for faculty, but certainly pertinent for staff with schedule constraints (e.g. positions that
require an employee to be in the office 9-5). There were some suggestions, such as family
pricing on passes to Dixon that could be passed on to Recreational Services.
It was suggested that FSF classes start at 15 minutes after the hour to allow people to get to the
class, but as we explored this, it turns out that many classes do indeed begin at say 5:15 PM as
opposed to 5:00 PM.
3. Increased opportunities for working remotely
For faculty, this should be a matter of the proper computer setup with network support,
however, as with the exercise issue, this can be difficult for staff with inflexible schedules and a
job that requires the person to man an office during regular business hours. We recommend the
COE look into offering opportunities for working remotely to staff with position descriptions that
do not necessarily require them to be in the office during all business hours. Where possible, it
is a relatively minor computer support issue to set this up.
4. Need for early career mentoring
This was brought up both in the online survey and in interviews with new faculty. Some of the
untenured faculty have not had any formal (or informal) mentoring and felt that it would have
been beneficial to have a mentor help guide them through their early years at OSU. In particular,
some have found it difficult to balance the desire to be a “good citizen” in ones school or
department with not volunteering for too much committee work. The committee learned that
most schools/departments now have more formal early career mentoring programs, but
perhaps there is still a need to emphasize the need for this to incoming heads/chairs. The
PCSOW also has a subcommittee focused on mentoring, lead by Jan Spitsbergen (Microbiology).
5. Scheduling of classes
A couple of comments in the survey pertained to class scheduling. It was brought up that with
pressure from increasing enrollment, it has become more difficult to schedule classes within
“family-friendly” hours. After some discussion, we concluded that this is generally dealt with by
the individual school/department, in that teaching of classes outside these hours are taken on
by faculty volunteering to do so. However, if enrollment keeps increasing, this may become a
real concern and we recommend a policy be implemented at the college level as necessary.
6. Employment policies: A number of questions came up that could be favorably addressed via a
new employee handbook or similar resource, - issues such as vacation policies for 9-mth
employees, leave options, etc. Specific issues raised in the survey included:
I.
Mentoring for all employees
II.
P&T evaluation adjustment for life situations (stopping the tenure-clock)
III.
Teaching and service relief for a term following child birth
IV.
On-campus child care options
V.
Caring for aging family members.
VI.
Dealing with mental illness - Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefits are outlined in
the faculty handbook. Unfortunately, OSU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
is accessible only to students.
Most, if not all, of these issues will likely be addressed by the new PCSOW Tool-kit, however, as
mentioned previously, this resource is currently only in the works for professorial faculty. One of
the issues the PCOSW is addressing is the difficulty employees have in actually finding the info
they are after via HR web pages. We suggested to PCSOW that a “distilled” version of the
employee handbook be established on the HR web site (one option is to compile a list of the
most frequently sought out topics/links which could then be linked to from a central location on
the HR home page).
The committee also discussed whether the COE could develop a brochure for all new employees
that has the most pertinent information listed in bullet form with links to the relevant HR web
pages, but after learning about the PCOSW efforts in this area, we believe this could also be
better dealt with at the university level. We did however in the process dig up some information
that seems pertinent to many COE employees and have listed this as an appendix at the end of
this report. It would be easier for new employees to navigate the leave and disability options if
they were handed a pamphlet the first day on the job with this type of information summarized
in an easily accessible place (as mentioned above). Apparently, some Schools have such a
resource for new employees.
Again, the PCOSW felt that their cause is strengthened by the support of this matter at the
college level in COE, and we thus recommend follow-up with this group.
7. COE goals vs career-life balance: (i.e., more grants, more Phds and MS graduates, etc.) seem to
work against faculty trying to achieve balance. John Selker took the time to provide thoughtful
comments on this topic. Similar comments were brought up in interviews with new faculty and
via discussion with colleagues. There is a general concern about budget constraints, increasing
enrollment, and the lack of infrastructure to actually do the job. Yet, the COE is hiring more
people, and that paired with recent budget cuts/furloughs leaves some faculty confused and
feeling undervalued. Minor, but specific, issues that were brought up ranged from
malfunctioning copier/printers provided via the new OSU contract, to lack of cleaning and
maintenance of offices and buildings.
8. Lack of support for research: COE grant budget development help would be a substantial
improvement. Similarly for help with managing large grants and the associated reporting
requirements. OPAA could be more supportive of PIs. What does F&A actually pay for?
Additional concerns included:
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More well-defined career-path and job security for instructors. Provide opportunities for
continued education, i.e., path and tuition reduction for MS-level instructors towards PhD
degree. Access to eCampus courses for instructors.
•
Optimizing bus schedules to work with class hours (needs to be worked out with the City, but a
valid point)
•
Safe bike storage and more changing facilities for bike commuters.
•
Finding a job for a partner in town (not much is done to help with this, once the new employee
has arrived here)
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The volume of email – mentoring on what is important?
Please, contact us with questions or if further clarification is needed.
The Career-Life Ad-Hoc Committee
Tina Batten, EECS ([email protected])
James Batti, CCE ([email protected])
Nancy Brickman, CCE ([email protected])
Craig Gates, CBEE, ([email protected])
Karti Mayaram, EECS, ([email protected])
Michael Scott, CCE, ([email protected])
Kagan Tumer, MIME ([email protected])
Dorthe Wildenschild, CBEE, ([email protected])
Appendix – Q&A with Human Resources/OSU FMLA
The HR contact for OSU Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is now Kyla Mangini, and the best way to
reach her is through the FMLA helpdesk at [email protected] or 7-5946. The answers to our
question below were provided by Hilary Gaylord (who has now moved to a different position).
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Is there a new employee orientation? Is there some general info on line that people can access?
Please see the New Employee Resources page on the Office of Human Resources (OHR) website
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/orient/newemplres . The site includes information and time for
the monthly orientation sections. I believe Paul Biwan or Leigh Larkin in the OHR coordinates the
orientation.
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Is there an employee handbook? Maybe one that’s on the web and easily searchable?
The New Employee Resources page has a FAQ section which addresses this question
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/orient/newemplres/faqs
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Is there one website or handbook that has all the info I need as a new employee?
Not completely. There is an extensive amount of information for faculty and staff at the Faculty & Staff
home page, and your college or department may have put together some information that is helpful to
new employees. This web site is designed to bring together information as a one-stop shop for new
employees.
I would suggest looking at the Policies and Procedures section on the Faculty and Staff home page as it
contains several helpful documents.
•
What is the university policy on faculty vacation? How much can you take at once?
From the New Employee Resources webpage you can select “benefits” on the right hand menu which
will direct you to a Benefits Overview page, or you may follow this link
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/orient/benefits-overview . You will need to select the employment
status and FTE of the employee you are wanting information for. Once you select the employment
status, choose the Leave Accrual & Use of Leave Time option on the right hand menu.
I don’t know if there is a specified cap on the length of vacation that a faculty member can take at one
time, however the time requested would be subject to supervisory approval and should normally not
exceed the amount of the available vacation leave balance. For additional questions on this topic I
would suggest contacting Jeri Hemmer in the OHR-Employee Relations [email protected]
There are also a number of questions that might be covered by having a better understanding of FMLA –
including:
•
What are the policies regarding leave for pregnancy, short-term illness, chronic illness, extended
illness, physical disability, etc.
Please visit the FMLA page within the Office of Human Resources Website:
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/ercc/fmla . You will find FAQ’s, the posters which outline both the
Oregon Family Leave Act (OFLA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the FMLA handbook,
documents that OSU requires when employee request FMLA and/or OFLA leave, and other information.
The Office of Equity and Inclusion works with employees on disability access and accommodation. Their
office contact information is 7-3556 and their website is http://oregonstate.edu/oei/access .
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Are there leave policies in place for those needing extended/reoccurring time off to care for
children, parents, etc.
OFLA and FMLA both provide leave for an employee who has a family member with a serious health
condition. The employee must meet eligibility requirements and provide the necessary documents to
determine if they qualify for the leave. Information on this is covered on the website.