Personal Plus Time—Following the passage of the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, Illinois State University made available 20 hours of Personal Plus Time to faculty and staff across multiple employee classes. Employees in those classes and categories at the start of next fiscal year (July 2024) will receive 40 hours of Personal Plus Time going forward on a per fiscal year basis. Time is available both in the iPeople system as well as in TimeClock Plus (for timeclock users) for review of balances and reporting time away from work. For more information and frequently asked questions, see direct links to the University Policy.
Merit-based Increases—As announced by President Tarhule in the State of the University Address in September last fall, the merit-based increases for eligible faculty and staff were implemented for distribution just before the winter closure. Those amounts should be reflected in January pay advices (for hourly employees on the final pay advice of January, for salaried employees on the first available pay advice in January).
Pronoun preference available—As an effort to continue to promote equity, inclusion, diversity and belonging, pronoun preference is available not only in our iPeople and Campus Solutions systems but also now as an applicant for employment at Illinois State University. Pronoun choice reflective of those afforded in our other campus systems are now available to applicants (and thus to hiring committees and search committees) to further promote individualized attention and accuracy in communicating with candidates for employment.
Policy and Procedure Updates—In addition to the new policy on Personal Plus Time referenced above, policies were updated to include adjustments for Bereavement Leave (3.1.53, previously part of 3.1.11) and VESSA (3.1.54), and the Severe Weather Closure memo of understanding was updated for the new year. Bereavement leave now includes additional provisions for child bereavement leave, and VESSA expanded some definitions and support for victims. Firefighter Training Leave of Absence has been added as a new option to Leave of Absence (3.1.11).
Learning and Development—Monthly, a calendar of some highlighted offerings are sent to deans, directors, and department heads for review and distribution to their teams. In addition, the Human Resources Learning Calendar features training toward a leadership certificate, sessions for customer service and common office tools, financial wellness, communication and connection, and more. The calendar features options for both in-person and virtual learning and development and works to catalog learning from other units on campus and make them available and known to all faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and student employees.
