Personnel Services Committee

February 20, 2003

Members Present: Ray Bailey, Janet Bush, Connie Childress, Bill Schran, Ellen Wertman, and Dave Williams

Members Absent: Kate Blackwell, Jean Braden, Patti Hill, Joe Horobetz, Barbara Howard, Kurk Lew, Ella Moore, Donna Principe, Ruth Schena, Melody Seeber, Larry Shapira, and Eric Trumbull,

1. Call to Order: Ray Bailey called the meeting to order at 2 p.m.

2. Review and Approval of the Minutes: The minutes of the January meeting were approved as distributed.

3. Chair's Report:

a. Ray said that he had referred the Committee's recommendations concerning the Faculty Handbook's statements on Affirmative Action to the College Senate. The Senate has met and has endorsed the recommendation that sexual orientation be added to the list of characteristics against which the College shall not discriminate. The Senate is also considering the recommendation that the Faculty Handbook be substantially revised.

b. Our recommendation that NVCC adopt the Blue Ridge retirement incentive plan was also considered by the Senate and endorsed. The Senate has passed this recommendation on to the President. Ray has written to the President saying that the PSC also endorses the program. President Templin has responded that the program is still under consideration, and Ray reported that the workgroup on College reorganization is considering the idea within its analysis.

c. Ray reminded the group that the Chancellor's Faculty Advisory Committee will meet soon. Ray chairs the group and hopes people at the College will see him as a conduit through which issues can be raised to the Chancellor's level.

4. Vice President's Report:

a. Alison reported that the workgroup on enrollment growth has submitted its draft report to the Administrative Council. She said that it had concluded that increasing College net revenue by more than $3 million over five years if NVCC receives authority to retain out of state tuition revenue and also develops a program to serve a substantial number of D.C. resident college students. The workgroup on tuition and fees has also reported in saying that it would not be difficult to increase College net revenue by $7.5 million if tuition were to increase by small annual increments beginning in fiscal 2005. Yet to come are the reports on non-state revenue, entrepreneurial activity and College reorganization.

b. Alison asked for reactions to the College's response to the recent snow emergencies. She asked the committee members to thank the B&G staffs at their campuses for their extraordinary hard work in cleaning up the campuses so that they were safe and accessible to employees and students. She said that the bulk of the cost of dealing with the snow emergency would be paid from the parking budget and so would not negatively impact the rest of the College's operations for the rest of the year.

The snow has damaged an exterior wall of Manassass's Colgan Hall. Facilities is exploring the extent of the damage which appears to be due to poor construction, not simply the snow. Safety precautions are being taken to make sure that people can enter and exit Colgan Hall.

4. Old Business:

a. President's Sabbatical: Dave Williams is putting together the program assessment of the President's Sabbatical. So far he has received responses from five of the nine awardees. He has some glowing testimonials. He expects reports from the others soon. His impression is that the faculty generally are very happy about the program, particularly in tough economic times. Dave will have a draft report for consideration at the Committee's next meeting.

b. Classified Emeritus: The subcommittee has accumulated nominations and but had not been able to meet as yet to develop a list of people to recommend. There are about 20 nominees. A meeting next week is likely. Janet will give the list of those recommended to Ray who will forward it to the President on behalf of the Committee.

5. New Business:

a. Alison asked the Committee to provide advice on what should be considered in deciding that a position was critical to be filled. The committee members suggested that having a full-time faculty member to lead programs at each campus is often necessary, but that the College should consider whether small programs should be offered in so many places. Generally, the productivity data should be used to support replacing faculty.

She asked if the Committee had any guidance on how the College should approach salary administration as positions are filled. The Committee membership agreed that for most counselor and librarian positions, the entry level salary should be sufficient to assure a quality applicant pool. For classified positions, the position description should be the key determinant for entry-level salary.

7. Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m.