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$300K tabbed for staff tuition

UH will begin giving staff scholarships this fall, Gogue says

by Lisa Street
Senior Staff Writer

University President Jay Gogue said Wednesday that funds for staff scholarships have been secured and money to further staff education will be available this fall.

"We have been able to secure funds, and John (Rudley) tells me we will have a process in place starting in the fall in which staff can get scholarships," Gogue said at the Staff Council Spring Forum on Wednesday.

Staff members in need of financial aid to help pay for tuition will have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship drawn out of a $300,000 pool. 

Details of how the scholarships will be distributed haven't been worked out, said Vice President for Administration and Finance John Rudley.

"The program will probably be a flat scholarship, and after evaluating the distributions of funds for the first year, it will be determined if the method need to be improved on for the following year," Rudley said. "We'll try to do a flat rate the first year and see how many people we can benefit."

Staff members will receive detailed information about applying for the scholarship in April.

Gogue also said he has asked for a new training program for supervisors at UH to address violations of University policies.

With regard to staff appraisals, which are required to be conducted and filed for every staff member annually, Gogue recommended there be a method for assuring those appraisals are completed and submitted according to policy. He said letters are being sent to staff supervisors whose evaluations haven't been completed.

"The goal is 100 percent on an annual basis, and for those who don't reply, there needs to be a reminder," Gogue said.

In other business, the Learning and Assessment Services reported its findings in the Staff Needs Assessment, which the Staff Council commissioned in the fall.

Data about working environments, managerial relationships and performance and career advancement submitted by more than 1,000 staff members were measured in both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Qualitative reports are still being analyzed, but quantitative data reports that staff members feel that UH is a "good place to make a career" and that relationship with peers, students and supervisors are positive.

Some areas staff members said need attention are the fairness of distribution of merit raises and skills training for managers and supervisors.

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