P&S Council: Jischke Renews Student Retention Goal for Coming Year by Anne Dolan Members of the Professional and Scientific Council discussed a variety of topics, including student retention, university governance and linking performance evaluations to compensation with President Martin Jischke during the June council meeting. Jischke attended the meeting to hear several reports on student retention projects funded this spring by his office. Jischke said more money in the next university budget will be tagged for student retention and recruitment, although he was not certain how much would be set aside specifically for P&S staff projects, as was done this year. "This is a community issue and we're going to continue doing it," he said. "Student retention and recruitment happens in my office, it happens in your office, it happens in the classroom, it happens in the bookstore." Former interim career service director in the College of Engineering Gloria Starns and Hansel Jones, an engineer with John Deere Des Moines Works, Ankeny, reported on a mentoring/team problem-solving program piloted in the college this spring with retention funds. Nine freshmen -- a mix of males and females, whites and racial minorities -- were selected for the program, which included solving an engineering problem posed by Jones, team presentations of solutions, mock interviews and a tour of the Deere plant in Waterloo. Starns said the college hopes to begin identifying more freshmen this fall for another mentoring program next spring with IBM, Texas Instruments or Procter & Gamble Co. The engineering project was one of six proposals funded this spring through a $20,000 fund created by Jischke for student retention efforts among P&S staff. Also presenting at the meeting was MaryAnn Simpson, marketing and conference coordinator for the department of residence, who summarized CONNECTIONS, a quality-service video training program for university employees. Through the training process, employees are reminded of the important role they play in student satisfaction with Iowa State. Simpson said all 66 of the department's P&S employees and about 90 percent of its merit staff completed the training this spring. Other campus units have expressed interest in the training program as well, she said. In other discussion, Jischke encouraged the council to forward advice or information to ISU leaders. Council members had asked if there was a way to involve P&S staff more centrally in managing the university. Jischke said he doesn't think it's likely universities will escape the differentiation among faculty, administrators, professional staff and merit staff, but added that a trend in higher education to give schools more flexibility to deal with volatile issues creates leadership opportunities for non-faculty and non-administrative employees. Jischke also repeated his pledge of annual performance evaluations and professional development opportunities for all university employees. Council members expressed concern about a lack of consistency among supervisors in how evaluations are conducted and how much effect evaluations have on pay increases. Jischke said the goal shouldn't be a cookie cutter approach to evaluations and compensation rewards. Flexibility in the system means that everyone is not treated identically, he said. But every employee should understand why his or her salary increase is what it is. In other business, the council seated two members to succeed recently elected council members (representing academic and research) who are leaving the university. John Adams, manager of the teaching reactor in the nuclear engineering lab, will serve a three-year term vacated by Karen Oerter. Stephenie Heuchelin, alumni officer for the College of Engineering, will serve one year in a seat vacated by Nancy Nisbett. The next meeting of the P&S Council will be its annual planning retreat Thursday, July 20, at the Izaak Walton League clubhouse, Stagecoach Road. _____ contact: Anne Dolan, Internal Communication, (515) 294-7065 updated: 6-16-95