April 13, 2016 Minutes

The Staff Advisory Council welcomes Andrea Ellis, Beth Fay, and Ellen Murphy to discuss upcoming updates/initiatives in their respective departments!

Guest Speaker: Andrea Ellis, Assistant VP for Innovation and Summer Programs
Reynolda Campus Summer Programs

What are the opportunities we have to use space on campus over the summer? Tiger Team is a committee made up of several departments Admissions, Charlotte Center, the College, F&CS, Global Affairs, and more, researching and assessing peer institutions, interviewing and assessing hall utilization. What are we using for space? There are 2 major areas for core programs: pre-college (grades 6-12) and college (US and international).

Some market research findings: Boston U: academic immersion, Duke Law: J-Term/Winter Sessions, Emory: Office of International and summer programs, Georgetown: community based programs.

Where are we? Where do we want to go? What and who will it take to get us there?

  • Current WFU Programs (Academic) – lots going on in the summer:
    • Curricular
    • Pre-Orientation
    • Grant/Internships

Non Academic: Pre college, Pre-orientation/Bridge programs, General Community

Current WFU Summer Programs
How does this align with our mission statement? Does this create money? What’s our priority? Some are good strategic value and margin, and some are a deficit. Some have no strategic value but great margin.

Many of the programs we currently have bring in only a very, very small margin of profit. We need to learn about where the opportunities are.

WFU campus – summer housing utilization: 20% of beds are used. 46% beds with maintenance.
Challenges to increasing utilization: logistics (age, location)

  • Barn: held 8 events last summer
  • Benson: Pugh: 44% usage last summer, room 401: 22% usage
  • Brendle: Recital Hall 53% usage, M307 96% usage
  • Farrell Hall <10%, no classes on Fridays, open on weekends
  • Worrell <5% usage

Looking ahead at summer 2016, we should use this space more.

Assessment of WFU programs

  • Academic:
    • Positives:
      • Summer management program
      • Debate camp
      • Pre-college and bridge programs
      • LENS program
    •  Concerns:
      • Pre-college programs are small, little margin
      • Current college courses may not entice students to stay for summer
      • Need to determine faculty teaching interest
  • Non-Academic
    • Positives:
      • Conference services
      • Partnerships with School of Business
      • Programs reach and engage the community
    •  Concerns:
      • Majority of programs have <$30K in revenue, not including athletics
      • Lack of awareness of conference services
      • Lack of infrastructure and support for after hours programming
      • Inconsistent fee model and space challenges

2016 Program Additions and Expansions
Pre-college

  • Arrive@Wake, LENS
  •  Summer Immersion
  • Increase number of camps/conferences
  • Alumni Family Weekend

College
Expansion of Online classes and intensive languages

Potential New Programs

  • Pre-College
    • Departmental Programs
    • Global Abroad and Debate Camp Abroad Programs
    • Summer Immersion for grades 5-7: “Wake Forest EDGE”
    • OPCD and/or ICE Boot Camp
    • RA/Conference Services Staffing Option
  • College
    • Entrepreneurship Program
    • Sophomore Summer (bring them back early)
    • J-Term or May-mester: Inter-disciplinary courses on hot topics
    • 3+1 Masters
  • Other
    • Continuing Ed: Business, Counseling, Law, Medicine
    • General Executive
    • Etc.
  • Roadblocks: Internal Challenges
    • Lack of process, central coordination, mission
    • No infrastructure for pre-college programming
    • Inconsistent process with RL&H and Conference Services
    • Cost prohibitive rate (Aramark, housing, meeting space, all expensive or free)
    • Inconsistent and individual marketing
    • Competing agendas
    • Lack of incentive to create a margin
    • Local market size – W-S in small, middle class market; difficult to generate high demand, premium prices

Campus-Wide Infrastructure requires intensive coordination and communication.

Summer Programs Task Force Members from all different departments.

  • 1st tier priorities (Jan-June).
    • Web presence (summer.wfu.edu to learn about college and high school opportunities)
    • Organizational Structure
    • Coordination of Space
    • Policies and Procedures
  • 2nd Tier priorities
    • General cohesive marketing
    • Software (tracking, registration, payment)
    • Residential summer support for k-12
    • Etc.
  • 3rd tier priorities
    • Financial model
    • Reduction of cost
    • Margin: seek opportunities to increase margin
    • Growth: envision and create new programs
  • What does this mean for our campus?
    • Guidance/expertise on how to create a program
    • Templates for applications, assessment, program development
    • Ease of room reservations and logistics
    • Centralized marketing
    • Create revenue for your department

Wake Forest Reynolda Campus Summer Programs

“Cultivate campus vibrancy and intellectual curiosity through summer classes, programs and conferences.”

Guest Speaker: Beth Fay, Director of Compensation and Benefits

Update on the following:

403b Retirement Plan and Dependent Eligibility Audit update
Annual Benefits Enrollment
Learn more: Events and Resources

  • Retirement Plan
    • $417M in plan assets
    • 4200 active retired and current plan participants
    • 33% of faculty and staff make contributions to their retirements
    • Transitioned to TIAA as sole service administrator in February/March
    • Best in class investment menu
    • Streamlined our funds
    • More flexibility with self-directed brokerage and Roth options.

As of July 1, 2016, New hires will be automatically enrolled for faculty/staff contributions of 5% of their salary unless they elect out of it. Please note that this is a contribution made by the employee, not Wake Forest University. They can change this at any time, and there is no salary minimum for this.

  • Dependent Eligibility Audit (Fall 2015):
    • Audited more than 2400 dependents representing 1100 faculty and staff members
    • Removed 38 dependents, resulting in an estimated 3 year saving of $335K
    • Documentation will be required for all new hires and qualifying events to ensure ongoing compliance.
  • Annual Benefits Enrollment: April 25-May 6
    • Email announcement to campus
    • Complete the online benefits enrollment form anytime
    • Benefits are effective July 1
  • Medical Plans: High (Core) and Low (Value) Plans
    • Minimal plan benefits updates; will have premium increases
    • New Wellbeing program
  • Additional Benefits
    • No dental plan updates; will have premium increases
    •  Added benefits to Legal plans
    • New AFLAC premiums for new enrollments
  • Important Notes
    • Must actively enroll if you:
    • Plan to make change and update elections or covered dependents (verification documents required)
    • Have a spouse on the medical plan
    • Participate in a flexible spending account, these end June 30th
  • Benefits Fair
    • May 3, 10-2 (Benson 401)
    • Information and Enrollment Sessions
    • 2 in person sessions April 25 and May 2
    • Recorded enrollment tutorial
    • Enrollment assistant in HR house
  • Resources available April 25
    • Annual Benefits Enrollment web page
    • Electronic Benefits Guidebook

New elections will be available on June 13th.

Guest Speaker: Ellen Murphy, Assistant Dean of Law: Director of Master in Studies in Law

  • Update on Master in Studies in Law:
    • 20% discount for Wake employees (extends to the Med school),
    • fully online
    • part time degree
    • start in August, January and May,
    • Total Cost: $720 per credit hour, $21,600 for the full degree.
    • 2 tracks: Health care and human resources

Free webinar – April 26th, 8:30pm: Today’s Workplace Risks: Employee Social Media Use; Register on the Law School’s Calendar.

Standing Committee Discussion: Re-evaluation of current SAC Standing Committees. Discussion around dissolving the Professional Development and Work-Life Balance Committees, and redistributing those members into other committees. This will be a by-law change. Everyone seems in favor of this and a vote will be forthcoming.

Benefits Fair Table: The Annual Benefits Fair is May 3rd from 10:00-2:00 in Benson 401. Primary objective will be to register people for upcoming picnic on June 9th. SAC will have a table again this year.

Election Update: Current election is still in progress. Make sure to vote, vote, vote!

  • Standing Committee Report-outs:
    • Communications – newsletter has been corrected and should no longer go to spam, till looking at creating a Facebook page.
    • Events – rsvp via the PDC website for the upcoming picnic, this just helps with food count, flyers coming soon.
    • Fringe Benefits – No updates
    • Membership – Elections are happening now.
    • Professional Development – Committee supports the proposed change to dissolve this committee; spoke to John Champlin, who wants to keep a SAC member on the PDC Advisory Board.
    • Pro-Humanitate – working with Events committee to set up a board May 17-June 3rd for canned food donation to give to local food bank. At picnic, Special Olympics will be there to tell us about donation and volunteer opportunities. Chaplain’s office will also be there to talk to us about the Chaplain’s Emergency Fund.
    • Work-Life Balance – supportive of the upcoming by-law change and dissolution of the committee.
  • Outside Committee Report-outs:
    • Capital Planning Advisory – updates: Reynolds Gym phase 1 completed. Phase 2 underway. At Board meeting this week, they will decide if they want to combine phases 2 & 3. Student health moving into mobile units in lot Q. Pool will close in August for 2 years. Big news, once complete, Reynolds will have 15,000 feet of fitness space for students, fac,and staff! Path to Reynolda Village is getting paved and finished. Parking master plan is underway, looking for ways to increase number of parking spaces on campus.
    • Faculty Senate (update from Kevin – with regard to picnic, announcement today or tomorrow on inside WFU with link to register. Senate discussing Diversity issues at WFU and outside with regard to recruiting of faculty, staff, and students.
    • Parking & Transportation – no update
    • Tree Advisory – no update
    • DIPC – no update
    • Finance Advisory – met last week, went over budget to be presented to board this week. Main source of revenue is still tuition. Main expense is still salaries. Big takeaway is that the renewal and replacement allocation for FY16-17 has doubled – much needed since many of our buildings will soon have major renovations.

Raffle Drawing! – Winner is VIcky Zickmund

*** Roughly 15-17 non-SAC guests in attendance!

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