After almost a year of articles discussing various aspects of the Staff Council merger proposal, it is finally time to hear from you, the staff of Illinois State University.
We ask that CS and AP staff take the merger advisory survey at the following link: https://illinoisstate.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0emelbWEPVxPRv8. The survey asks about whether you support the merger, as well as possible concerns about the merger, your hopes and goals for the merger, and whether you’d like to assist in further work on the merger (as the hard work has hardly begun!)
Here are previous articles on the merger of the Administrative/Professional (A/P) and Civil Service (CS) Councils:
- Introduction and timeline
- History of the merger proposal, reasons in support of a merger
- Core structure of a Staff Council
- Committees on the Staff Council
- External representation
- Answers to questions
Note that this is an advisory survey. It is not a definitive vote of whether to create a Staff Council. For instance, as noted in previous articles, if the merger working group found that creating a Staff Council would result in reduced Senate representation, we would cease pursuing the merger. The merger is premised on the goal of increasing our voice rather than decreasing it, and so, continuing with the merger is depending on staying in alignment with that and the other central goals of the merger. (Those goals are discussed throughout the articles linked up above.)
If it’s not a “vote” in the strict sense, then what is the goal of the survey? It gives us a clear sense of the overall level of staff support, after we have described the goals and structure of a Staff Council at length. Unlike a simple up-or-down vote, a survey also allows us to ask for more detailed feedback on what thoughts, hopes, or concerns you may have that affect your support. The way in which we proceed moving forward could shift depending on what you have to say, so your feedback is really important here.
The survey opened November 11, and will remain open until Friday, December 6.
If you have questions about the survey, feel free to reach out to us at staffcouncil@IllinoisState.edu. The CS and AP Councils will also be co-hosting a staff appreciation event with hot cocoa on Thursday, November 21, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Spotlight Room of the Bone Student Center. Merger group members will be there to answer questions, and we hope to see you there.
