Financial Exigency Update as of August 9th

August 9, 2019

CRHO Keli Hite McGee

 

Date:   August 9, 2019

To:       UA Community

From:   Keli Hite McGee, UA Chief Human Resources Officer

Re:      Financial Exigency Update as of August 9th 

Dear University Staff,

Human Resources (HR) is receiving many questions on the impact of the Board of Regents’ vote to move into financial exigency regarding employee benefits. Below are the critical concerns clarified.

Tuition Waivers: There are no changes at this time to the tuition waiver for eligible university employees or their dependents.
Annual Leave Cash-In:
 There are no changes at this time to the annual leave cash-in program for eligible university employees.

Furlough: The notice of potential furlough sent by President Johnsen on July 1, 2019, was to inform staff that we may implement a furlough. If we do need to implement a furlough, then employees will receive communication and implementation instructions.

Reductions: University leadership is developing a plan for the path forward to consolidate administration and determine academic program impact due to the budget cut as it stands now and in financial exigency. The goal is to create a viable path forward and provide some certainty for students and employees. We are communicating as we get information.

Financial Exigency: A website dedicated to financial exigency is available at https://alaska.edu/hr/exigency/. Additional information on the FY2020 budget is available on President Johnsen’s websitehttps://alaska.edu/pres/fy2020-budget/.

Employee Resources: Human Resources is providing various workshops to help employees manage the stress. The DeerOaks Employee Assistance Program provides services and HR is coordinating with the State of Alaska Workforce Development
program for additional resources. 

  1. The updated UA DeerOaks EAP Workshop schedule is available online.
  2. DeerOaks Employee Assistance Program provides counseling and other services 24-hours a day.
  3. We are developing a plan with the SOA Workforce Rapid Response Program should it be needed.

Sincerely,

Keli Hite McGee, UA Chief Human Resources Officer