vMinutes of the Faculty
Benefits Committee
Members Present: Michael Elliott, Blair Funderburk, Marc Goetschalckx, John Grovenstein, Jim Higgins, Jackie McGill, Kristin Morrow and Kristina Shalley
1. The meeting was called to order by Marc Goetschalckx. The minutes of the meeting held on January 16, 2001 were approved after the amendment on distance learning was added.
a). Notice of TRS Liability Fee for ORP
Participants on Pay Stubs
It was noted that the permanent notice is still not being printed on the pay stubs. Further discussion on this issue was tabled since Chuck Donbaugh was absent.
b). New Liability Contract with
Vendors of TDAs
John Grovenstein reported that the negotiations are still ongoing between the legal departments of Georgia Tech and the providers. There was unanimous agreement that sufficient time should be given to the employees to adjust their vendor and TDA after the contract is approved. Further discussion was tabled since no new information was available and Chuck Donbaugh was absent.
c). Financial Conditions
Associated with Distance Learning
The financial conditions associated with the participation in distance learning activities by the faculty were discussed. This issue is also under consideration by the Executive Board (EB) of the Institute. A response will be provided to Ed Thomas, Secretary of the Faculty, that the Faculty Benefits Committee (FCB) is reviewing the issue and recommends an arrangement where faculty and the Institute share in some way in the intellectual property rights and financial compensation. The charter to the FCB was not clear. Two possible approaches were discussed:
1). A number of significant issues have to be addressed in a comprehensive manner: faculty compensation, intellectual property rights, copyrights, workload and release time, and contribution to promotion and tenure. In this case, the committee felt this was a very important issue that deserved a comprehensive review by a separate committee. A member of the FCB should be a member or chairperson of this new committee. It was further stated that faculty input should be solicited.
2). The charter had a narrow focus on compensation only. The FCB could authorize a sub-committee that would investigate possible compensation models, poll the faculty and report back to the committee as a whole.
Further discussion was tabled until more detailed information on the charter could be obtained from the Executive Board.
d). Comparative Review of
Benefits
John Grovenstein reported that most of the benefit issues were decided at the Board of Regents (BoR) level or the State of Georgia level (SoG), not at the Institute level. John Grovenstein distributed a free survey by BVC consultants. In this free survey, no detailed information on benefits at peer institutions was available. If such info is available, it will require a purchase, and John Grovenstein reported that the free survey contains 90 percent of the information in a purchase survey. The benefits in the survey were reviewed and the benefits offered by Georgia Tech to classified employees and research faculty were judged to be comparable or better than the benefits described in the survey. John Grovenstein was charged to compile a list of more targeted benefit reviews for faculty and their associated cost. John Grovenstein cautioned that such information may not exist.
e). Long-Term Disability (LTD)
Long-term disability benefits are based on 60 percent of a contractual base pay. Employees with a nine-month contract are at a disadvantage if they work during the summer, because their summer pay does not contribute to the contractual base. The committee discussed the recommendation that the LTD benefit for academic faculty be based on the average of the last two years or on the W2 earnings reported for the previous year. John Grovenstein noted that the pay-out of the benefits is spread over 12 months and observed that retirement benefits for TRS participants are based on a two-year average. It was observed that a longer base period increased the lag for promoted employees or employees with significant raises.
f). Student Government Survey
Kristin Morrow completed a survey from the Student Government on the charter, focus, and current and past activities of the Faculty Benefits Committee. The major issues that are currently and were in the recent past before the committee were briefly reviewed. It was noted that the FBS collaborated on the establishment of a childcare facility, which also benefited the students. It was reiterated that no student fees contribute to employee benefits.
g). TRS Unfunded Liability Fee
John Grovenstein reported briefly that the TRS unfunded liability fee for ORP participants may be decreased.
2. The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
----------------------------------------
Marc Goetschalckx
May 15, 2001