Monthly Communication: April 2020
Good morning: Again I write to you from my home office (dog on the couch next to me!). I’m continuing my work helping to recruit students – we know there is an end to this challenging time we’re facing and everyone in my office is communicating this to our prospective students. They’re understandably anxious to know that the college experience they’ve been working toward and hoping for is still in reach. As we’re talking with these students and their families they’re grateful for the outreach and our continued efforts to provide services. I share this with you to help inspire you, too: there will be an end to this pandemic. We will get back to normal, even if changed, and we will resume the full scope of our important work serving our students and the state of New Mexico. Thank You!
I want to be sure and thank each and every staff person serving in Tier 1 status. These staff who are continuing to keep essential services up and running for our students and in service to the community are an inspiration to us all. I’m also continuing conversations about what the university can do to fully-appreciate the work of these staff for their significant contributions given the specific challenges facing Tier 1 staff. Importantly, there is a policy to provide partial reimbursement to some staff, which can be viewed here. Thanks, also, to those in Tier 2, working remotely, and for those in Tier 3 for their willingness to be on-call and ready to work at any time. I also want to issue a special thank you to those staff who are taking on additional roles and who are still committed to their work for UNM. Many staff are now juggling many more responsibilities. With kids home from school, parents may be asked to help continue their child’s education. With social-distancing in place, others may be taking on more for family members. If you’re like me, you’re trying to balance the regular routine of your dog (my cat is just bothered we’re in his space all day!) and to ensure that your elderly neighbors have all of the things they need – yes, including toilet paper! I just want to take a moment to thank you for wearing those different hats, and to encourage you to work with your supervisors to determine the most-supportive set of work expectations considering the other responsibilities you may now have. The tiers that were developed for this limited staffing operation allow for some flexibility and it’s important that you don’t get burnt out trying to do so much! Compensation for FY2021
At the March 9 Regents Meeting, a 4% compensation increase was approved by the Board of Regents (along with our proposed tuition and fee structure). You can find specifics about the guidance regarding this year’s Mass Salary Update (MSU), and who is eligible, here. Typically we have seen two prongs to these salary increases: a flat percentage that all eligible staff receive, and then an optional percentage to be based on performance. Because of the changing environment and the complications that have come up because of COVID-19, everyone who is eligible will receive the flat 4% compensation increase. Administration is hoping to have a process to consider small performance-based increases during the FY21 year when things are back to normal. I will be engaging with Human Resources to provide feedback on how to do this without harming departments that don’t have the budget to reward truly high-performing staff. Staff as Students
Previously, we made the announcement that the Staff as Students event had been cancelled for Spring 2020. The Staff Council Student Success Committee has worked with Sheila Jurnak, our Registrar, and Deborah Kieltyka, Associate Director of Admissions, to provide staff with the fee waivers and priority registration that means so much to the staff who are students. Beginning on March 30th, staff may send an email, from their @unm.edu email account, to Dept_Update-L@list.unm.edu to request that Records and Registration configure their account to enable early registration. The email must include: - Staff member’s full name
- Staff member’s UNM ID #
- Confirmation of registration term: Summer 2020, Fall 2020
When the request has been completed, confirmation will be provided by REPLY to the sender. The early registration access becomes available at 11:30 a.m. on April 6, 2020 and will end at midnight on April 13. Questions concerning waiver of the application fee should be directed to Deborah Kieltyka, directly, also beginning March 30 and ending April 13. As you know, Admissions supports those staff who want to participate in early registration but have not yet been admitted or who require a readmit. If applying as degree-seeking, select ‘pay later’ on the application and then submit. If applying as non-degree seeking, get to the very end of the app before paying and stop. Email Deborah with the your information, from your @unm.edu email account, and she will waive degree-seeking fees, and finalize non-degree applications. Staff who have holds preventing registration will need to clear those before they will be able to register. Other Staff Council Events
Many Staff Council Events have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and guidance from state, local and university leadership. We will continue to communicate with you regarding events as they change, including Staff Appreciation Week. Watch the Staff Council eNews for regular updates. One specific event that is very important to me: Staff Appreciation Week. My hope is that this event can move forward as planned – in mid-July – but we will continue to follow guidance on gatherings and may have to postpone this yearly celebration of our work. If we cannot hold the 2020 Staff Appreciation Week as planned, it will not be cancelled. We will work to hold this week of events for a time when we are all back on campus and regular operations have resumed. I just want you to know that Staff Council Representatives are committed to this week – our single largest during the year – because of how important we believe that it is to honor your hard work. We will ensure that it happens. Virtual Town Hall with President Stokes
I hope you saw the announcement yesterday that President Stokes will be hosting a virtual Town Halltomorrow! I’ll be watching with you, and please help spread the word to those staff who you may know that might not have seen the message! If you have a question, you can submit it here. Please continue to check your email for updates and the UNM Coronavirus website for important updates. Working together we can flatten the curve and also continue to deliver on our mission as The University for New Mexico. Again, I appreciate the hard work that each of you do each day, and through this difficult time. We’ll get through it because we’re stronger together. Respectfully, Ryan E. Gregg
Data Manager | Admissions
President | UNM Staff Council
greggr@unm.edu
scpresident@unm.edu | 