UT Systemwide Employee Advisory Council representatives: (Back
row) John Poindexter, UTSA; Walter Tenery, UT Arlington;
Sherill Boline, UT System;(front row) Terri Reynolds, UTSA;
Shirley Zwinggi, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas; Bob
Vasquez, UT Permian Basin
UT System Staff Advisory Council proposes benefits plan
(March 7, 2003)--Representatives of the University of Texas Systemwide Employee Advisory Council (EAC) met with the Board of Regents Feb. 12 to propose a reduced or free tuition program for all UT System employees.
"One of the goals within UT's mission is to provide excellent administrators and staff who assume roles of leadership and support for the educational enterprise," said Terri Reynolds of UT San Antonio, chair of the EAC benefits committee.
"Offering the ability to attend courses at any UT campus with reduced tuition and/or fees will provide staff development, personal enhancement and improved morale, which will inevitably lead to retention of quality employees."
Details of the proposal include:
- Employees would not be charged for a minimum of three credit hours per semester at any component institutions.
- The program would cover all undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as all distance learning and UT TeleCampus courses.
- Employees must have been continuously employed for a minimum of six months, be eligible for benefits and must meet standard admission requirements.
- Future eligibility is contingent upon completion of courses and maintaining the minimum required GPA.
Both Charles Miller, chairman of the Board of Regents, and Chancellor Mark Yudof agreed that it was an idea worth exploring.
"I believe that this is something we should seriously explore with the Legislature," said Mark Yudof, UT chancellor. "In Texas, we cannot waive tuition and fees for anyone without the permission of the Legislature. We need the freedom to make these kinds of decisions locally, on a campus-by-campus basis, where it makes sense," Yudof said.
EAC members present were Walter Tenery (chair), UT Arlington; Shirley Zwinggi (vice chair), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Sherill Boline (historian), UT System; Terri Reynolds (benefits committee chair), UT San Antonio; Bob Vasquez (policy committee chair), UT Permian Basin; and John Poindexter (communications committee chair), UT San Antonio.
In addition to the employee education plan, representatives discussed the EAC Web site and historical records repository and reviewed research findings of the Compensation Subcommittee on Best Practices.
The 32-member Employee Advisory Council includes two representatives and an alternate from each component institution of the System as well as the System administration. The council was authorized by the Board of Regents in 2000 to provide a vehicle for communication and to facilitate the flow of ideas and information between employees, the Board of Regents and executive officers of the System.
The council holds two-day meetings in Austin in March, July and October of each year and meets with the Board of Regents each February. Dan Stewart, executive director of employment and benefits administration, is the System liaison for the council.
Visit the UT System Employee Advisory Countil Web site.
For more information, contact John Poindexter at (210) 458-4528.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2003