Fellow Bears,
Today is Employee Appreciation Day and I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation for each and every one of you and the important contributions you make within our community. UNC would not be the outstanding university we are without our tremendous faculty and staff – thank you for your continued commitment to placing our Students First and advancing the institution. You spend so much time and energy ensuring that our students feel supported, and it is important that we make concerted efforts to ensure that you – our employees – feel supported as well.
In recognition of your efforts, and in appreciation of your unwavering commitment to our students’ success, we would like to announce the following initiatives, some of which are in continuation from last year.
Modified Summer Work Week
From May 13 through July 29, our administrative offices will close at 1:00 p.m. on Fridays. This applies for all classified and exempt staff. Full-time employees will continue to work a regular schedule Monday through Thursday but will only work a half day on Friday. Employees will be paid their full-time salary with the remaining four hours paid by the university, classified as administrative leave. Staff in areas that are unable to close on Fridays will be granted four hours of administrative leave each week. After piloting this last summer, the feedback was so well-received that I thought it was important to have half-day Fridays again this summer, giving our employees extra time to enjoy our beautiful state on the weekends!
Planned Salary Increase in July
UNC is planning a 2-3 percent compensation increase for all faculty and staff, effective July 1, 2022. Details regarding the pay increase will be communicated at a further date, but we are committing to an increase of at least 2 percent across-the-board at this time. The salary increase this summer will mark the third pay increase in 12 months given to UNC faculty and staff – demonstrating our clear commitment to improving employee compensation.
Extended Winter Break
For the third consecutive year, we will have an extended winter break. This has been well-received and we will continue to have time off from Christmas to New Year’s Day at the end of 2022. By providing additional time off, our hope is that you will be able to spend time with family, friends, and loved ones over the holidays and have the flexibility to travel wherever you may want to go. UNC’s 2022 holiday calendar can be found here.
Administrative Leave for Volunteer Work
We will continue our Volunteer Leave Program in FY23, in which all full-time classified, professional, and administrative staff and faculty are eligible to use 16 hours of paid administrative leave (resets each fiscal year) to participate in community or school volunteer activities. Leave can be taken in one-hour increments and should be requested at least one week in advance with the employee’s supervisor. For part-time employees, the 16 hours will be prorated by FTE. The full policy on the Volunteer Leave Program can be read here. I encourage anyone who has not yet taken advantage of this opportunity to do so!
Student Loan Forgiveness Support
We are excited to announce a partnership with TIAA and Savi to provide assistance to faculty and staff who would like to participate in federal student loan forgiveness programs. UNC will pay for the first year of the program to allow our employees to see if it is beneficial to them. The annual cost for this program is currently $60. Complete details will be communicated by Human Resources via email when the program goes live on March 14.
I would also like to use this opportunity to invite all faculty and staff to attend our Employee Recognition Luncheon on Wednesday, March 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the University Center ballroom. At the event, we will recognize employee milestones and announce the Professional Administrative Staff Council (PASC) and Classified Staff Council (CSC) Employee of the Year award winners. Please RSVP here if you plan to attend. Faculty and staff can nominate your colleagues for the CSC and PASC Employee of the Year awards through March 11.
I am incredibly grateful to be president at UNC, surrounded by so many talented, caring, and passionate faculty and staff. Thank you for all of your hard work – it does not go unnoticed. I look forward to seeing everyone at our Employee Recognition Luncheon on the 23rd. For any questions about any of these initiatives, please contact Human Resources at human.resources@unco.edu.
Rowing, Not Drifting,
Andy Feinstein
President
