I. Intro and Welcome – Alex Teal

II. Human Resource update – Renee Boelcke

• Employee Survey – this was taken before Renee started working here so it is challenging for her to understand the process and results. The survey did report a clear desire of employees to have Dental and Vision Coverage – and we did get Dental Coverage this year. Feedback on the coverage is overall very positive. She is still interested in getting Vision coverage and working toward that goal.
• Training Procedures – she implemented a New Hire Orientation in the fall – 1 time a week for 4 weeks, topics covered during this training included: mission, strategic plan, recruitment of students, student experience, employee expectations, how to access information, where to look for information/help, advancement efforts. They are still working on establishing a good format and finalizing the content for this training.
• Suggestions from support staff:

1. Budget tutorial and continued training for those who are responsible for budgets
2. Training for Student Employee Supervisors – how to approve timecards, etc
3. Software training for new employees
4. Can job postings have pay ranges? Renee asked that you simply call or email her directly if you have questions about pay for an open position. She is more than happy to let you know what that will be.
5. Discrepancy between salary and support staff vacation accrual – Renee said that this is in part due to different expectations and job requirements for salaried employees, but she hears the concerns that support staff has
6. Sick time buyback – some support staff are not in favor of this and would like there to be an option to opt-out of the buyback

III. Test-Optional for Admissions – Eric Staab – Dean of Admission and Financial Aid

• ACT/SAT scores are not longer required for applications who apply to K for admission
• Currently staff use the following factors in deciding who to admit:
• Recommendations
• GPA
• Essay
• Co-Curricular activities
• Curriculum/coursework
• Faculty decides the criteria that admission staff use.
• Many studies show that test scores do not directly correlate to success in college.

IV. SSAC nominations and elections are starting