• Implementation Plan for Staff

Implementation Plan for Staff

Attract, develop and retain a well-qualified, diverse, and skilled staff that is equipped to support the growth and potential of the College of Engineering.

It is widely recognized that high quality staff support is crucial to the achievement of College of Engineering’s goals. Staff members are facilitators that allow faculty and administration to focus on research, teaching, granting and other scholarly activities.   Staff members provide a familiar and welcoming environment to students and play an integral part in college-wide day-to-day operations.

As the College has increased its research programs over the past 20 years, the number of staff positions has not kept pace with the growing needs. Staff functions have also evolved due to changes in technology underscoring the importance of retraining opportunities for staff members. Compartmentalized duties for staff are disappearing; job titles and salaries should reflect and appropriately compensate the broadened scope of their duties. Increased staff workload and changing priorities will be a natural outgrowth as the College pursues this strategic plan. College of Engineering administration will work with UA administration to develop plans for growth of staff consistent with the growth in faculty and programs. The College will focus its efforts on empowering its staff to obtain their full potential by evaluating staff workload issues and developing workload models that allow our staff to effectively perform their job functions. The College will provide attractive career paths and opportunities for professional development for staff. Additionally, better rewards will be provided for highly productive staff including financial incentives and other forms of recognition such as awards.

The Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of a diverse, well-trained staff to the ultimate success of the College of Engineering.  The listing that follows provides actions necessary to successfully implement staff-related initiatives.  Table 5 summarizes the metrics (measurable outcomes) that will be used to assess our progress in meeting our goals.

Implementation Actions  

• Establish the staff/faculty ratio consistent with peer institutions and develop the hiring plans to realize this goal concurrent with faculty hiring plans
• Insure the distribution of staff positions (i.e., administrative assistants, secretarial, accounting, technician, etc.) meets the needs of each department.
• Provide competitive staff salaries in line with peer institutions and promote awareness of this issue with legislators, faculty, the administration and alumni. Special emphasis must be given to:

• Developing and executing a plan to ensure there is adequate support system to retain staff members who have a need to balance between family and career. Examples of such support include telecommuting to the extent possible and part-time employment opportunities.
• Review staff job descriptions to assure the title matches the actual duties and responsibilities of the position
• Encourage and support staff development by providing them opportunities to continue their education and by providing support such as flexible hours and tuition support for on-campus and off-campus courses, on-line training, and certification programs.
  

• Develop a College orientation program and mentoring system for new staff that will facilitate their development relative to administrative, research and teaching support as well as reward mentors for their contributions
• Establish a system that rewards and recognizes staff contributions and achievements

  • Develop a staff reward program for value-added contributions and/or service.
  • Include staff representatives in advisory roles on important college committees and encourage nominations to campus committees.

• Establish a non-classified staff performance evaluation system for the College

  
  Table 4. Staff-Related Metrics for Implementation

   

  Metric Description	Unit	UAF COE Current	COE Strategic Plan Goal/Target 2010
  Support Staff to Faculty ratio including technical and post docs and business/clerical	Avg. per faculty member	1.0	1.5
  Staff diversity: minority	% COE	14%	20%
  Staff diversity: women	% COE	45%	50%
  Participation in college orientation program for new employees	% COE	0%	100%
  Participation in professional development	No. hours/year for each staff member	N/A	10 hours
  Number of national, state, campus, college awards received	% COE	2%	5%
  Participation on campus, college or departmental committees	% COE	N/A	25%