Salary and Benefits Committee

2006-2007 Report Salary & Fringe Benefits

April 10, 2007

No major initiatives were brought to the attention of the committee from the faculty, so it was a rather uneventful year. There were two issues raised and discussed:

1. Tuition reimbursement for 6 versus 5 credit hours. This issue never made it to the committee but was addressed by the executive committee with the administration. The matter was then presented to the entire senate and not considered further. It was determined that the original intent of the benefit was for 1 course under the quarter system. This might be a 4 or 5 quarter credit hour. When the conversion to semester took place the intent of 1 course was missed and the hour amount remained unchanged. It was determine that if the issue was raised the original intent might be revived and the hours reduced to 1 semester course which could be 3 or 4 credit hours, thus a reduction in the benefit.
2. Enhance the wellness of health plan members. The university is launching a program to help improve the wellness of health plan members and thus reduce the cost of coverage and expenses. Studies indicate that such programs have been successful elsewhere. A subcommittee was formed and chaired by Wayne Davis to implement the program. The committee has met several times and have planned to start the program with educational outreach and survey of plan members. Jean Irion has joined this effort and has expressed great interest in the program. When presented to the senate there were some issues raised regarding privacy and how any information might be used by the program. These concerns were brought to the committee and all efforts will be taken to safeguard the rights of all members. At this time no actual action has been taken to start the program.

The chair of the committee and chair of the senate have attended the meetings of the USA Fringe Benefits Committee. The program appears stable and well funded at this time. The new benefits for dental appear to be going well and within the anticipated ranges of usage. There was no plan for increases at this time and continued monitoring of usage is reported on a regular basis.