Administrative Policy News for March 2024

The University Policy Program coordinates and facilitates the process of developing, reviewing, and accessing accurate, up-to-date policies and procedures. This quarterly communication highlights some recent updates to the policies in our library.

Regents Tuition Benefit Program

A hand offering a tuition benefit.

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) renamed the Administrative Policy: Regents Scholarship Program to Regents Tuition Benefit Program. The Regents Tuition Benefit Program offers full-time employees (75-100%) access to undergraduate and graduate programs at any University campus. Employees who do not hold a bachelor’s degree can take classes for free if they have been accepted into a degree program. All other employees only pay 25% of the class cost. Note that fees outside of tuition (such as book costs or lab fees) are not covered by the Regents Tuition Benefit Program.

Changes to the policy are aimed at making the program easier to use. OHR has streamlined the approval process for the benefit, created a new form to request the benefit, and provided additional guidance on the tax ramifications of the benefit. In addition to the policy, learn more about the changes in HR Update: Regents Tuition Benefit Program.

Hiring Faculty and Staff

A military color guard.

VEVRAA (Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act) prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating in employment against protected veterans and requires employers to take affirmative action to recruit, hire, promote, and retain these individuals. One way for the University to comply with VEVRAA is posting all positions at the University, including temporary and casual positions. OHR has updated Administrative Policy: Hiring Faculty and Staff to reflect the job posting requirements.

Policy Retirements

A retirement party spread.

In March, the President’s Policy Committee approved the retirement of two policies owned by the Executive Vice President and Provost:

  • Faculty Responsibility in Undergraduate Advising on the Curriculum
  • Providing In-Progress Notifications on Academic Performance

It is important to note that retirement from the administrative policy library does not equate to a retirement of the content of these policies. Instead, it was determined that the content of these policies could be combined into Administrative Policy: Teaching and Learning: Instructor and Unit Responsibilities.

Earned Safe and Sick Time

An outline of the state of Minnesota.

In March, the final version of the Minnesota Earned Sick and Safe Time policy was posted in the Policy Library. OHR incorporated feedback received from University community members. As a result of the feedback, the University will be expanding ESST to all eligible employees, regardless of their state of residence. A system update is in progress and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2024. Once updated, employees who live outside of Minnesota will be given ESST credit for any time worked since January 1, 2024. Any ESST accruals will appear in MyU.