Oct. 20, 2011
Four policies that should be on your radar
by Anne Krapfl
Changes to Iowa State's former conflict of interest policy that took effect July 1 add the concept of a conflict of commitment (i.e. time, effort), define key terms -- such as professional activity leave -- and require a written plan in some situations for managing, reducing or eliminating the conflict. The revised Conflicts of Interest and Commitment Policy is among several university policies that executive vice president and provost Elizabeth Hoffman selected to remind employees of this fall. Two of the four are new policies in 2011; the other two received significant revisions in the last 10 months.
Here's a quick look at four university policies that may alter how you do your job from previous years:
Revised: Conflicts of
Interest and Commitment Policy, effective July 1,
2011.
Outlines
the external activities and financial interests that must be disclosed
if they have potential to adversely impact an employee's
objectivity, job performance or use of state resources.
Who it's for: All employees
Why it matters: Regularly disclosing, reviewing and approving an
employee's outside activities protects him or her from subsequent accusations of
impropriety about those activities.
FAQ (PDF)
Procedures,
Applications and Guidance (PDF)
New: Salary
Adjustments Policy, effective Jan. 14, 2011.
Ties
performance-based salary increases to written performance evaluations,
and market- or equity-based adjustments to university-approved market
data, and improves communication about salary adjustments.
Who it's for: Faculty, P&S staff, employees on contract and post docs
Why it matters: The "one-size-fits-most" approach to awarding salary
increases is gone. Each employee will know how his or her salary
increase was determined. Supervisors have some freedom to reward high
performers and an obligation to address poor performances.
FAQ (PDF)
Inside
Iowa State article
New: Effort
Reporting and Certification Policy, effective Feb. 1,
2011.
The
federal government requires that labor charged to federally sponsored
research reflects actual work performed -- and at the time it was
performed.
Who it's for: Any employee whose salary is at least partially covered
by a federal grant; primary investigators are responsible to certify the work
efforts of everyone on their research teams.
Why it matters: At risk is a damaged reputation for the university
among federal funding agencies and the loss of hundreds of thousands
of grant dollars.
FAQ
(PDF)
Inside
Iowa State article
Revised: Post-Tenure
Review Policy, effective April 7, 2011.
Adds to the
basic concept of peer review of tenured faculty a timeline, options for outcomes and the
responsibility of various administrators in the review process.
Who it's for: Tenured faculty (full-time and part-time)
Why it matters:
The revised review process rewards superior performance by faculty
with a special salary increment and provides constructive feedback for
improvement to faculty falling below expectations. Ignoring
this peer-review requirement or failing to implement a
performance improvement plan could lead to a charge of unacceptable
performance of duty.
