Council receives an update on performance pay use

Members of the Professional and Scientific Council will vote next month on three motions introduced Oct. 7 by its policies and procedures committee. The motions endorse policies in development that cover the use of electronic cigarettes, drones and video cameras on campus, respectively. Public input is being accepted by email through Nov. 16 for the policies, which all go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.

Two of the council motions endorse (with no suggested edits):

  • Proposed amendments to the smoke-free campus policy that would prohibit e-cigarettes, also called personal vaporizers, on and in all university owned, leased and operated buildings, property and grounds.
  • Proposed amendments to a facilities and grounds use policy that provide approval procedures for the operation of drones and other unmanned aircraft on ISU property.

The third motion approves -- with recommended changes -- a proposed policy for administrative use of video cameras. The policy provides guidelines primarily for crime prevention, public spaces and customer service. The committee's recommended changes for the draft policy further clarify some of the requirements contained in the guidelines document.

Councilors will vote on the motions at their Nov. 5 meeting.

Performance pay

Emma Houghton, director in university human resources, provided an overview of the extra-meritorious performance pay program (doc) that was implemented in 2008 and revised in 2011. The program awards one-time payments for P&S employees who perform beyond the scope of their duties. The payments do not become part of an employee's base salary. Examples include work on special projects or major initiatives.

"The program is not intended to be used in lieu of salary paid yearly," Houghton said.

She reported that 76 employees were rewarded through the program in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015. The awards ranged from $500 to $10,000, with a $2,583 average. The College of Engineering (12) and vice president of business and finance office (11) were the top units to utilize the program in FY15.

Houghton said a review of the program guidelines is being planned.

"One of the major tasks that I do see is the differences in how it's applied across each [unit]," she said.

Related article

Privacy, safety are central to new policies, Oct. 1, 2015