Hi everybody; please use this posting rather than the previous which did not include all the information I’d received regarding the implementation of furloughs!

 

Of the seven universities responding to the questions I posed, five were applying the furlough to all employees regardless of funding source: U. of Maryland, Baltimore; U of Connecticut; UNC Chapel Hill;  UNC Charlotte; and Frostberg State University; and grants were excluded from the furlough policy at John Carroll University and Towson. The decision point for those implementing the furlough policy for all employees was consistency; for those exempting grant-funded positions, the fact that the state funds would not be saved.

 

The questions were as follows: •  Is your university (1) considering and/or (2) implementing FURLOUGHS? • If so, will the furlough program apply to all employees regardless of funding source? and

• Alternatively, are you making an exception for “non-state” funding and exempting those employees?

 

Comments from respondents included the following:

 

Frostberg State: “We have implemented furlough days and applied them to all employees, regardless of funding source, no exceptions.  Our employees are employed by the state and furlough days apply to all state employees, even if their salary is grant funded.” Sara L. Wilhelm, Grant Accountant, General Accounting; Hitchins Room 109, Frostburg State University; Phone: 301-687-7054; Fax: 301-687-4494; xxxxxx@frostburg.edu

 

The University of Connecticut: “The University of CT is implementing 1 furlough day this fiscal year and 3 furlough days in each of the next 2 fiscal years.  Every employee is affected – regardless of funding source. Enjoy your beautiful day!” Brenda C. Aubert, CRA; Grants and Contracts Specialist; Office for Sponsored Programs; 438 Whitney Road Ext., Unit 1133; Storrs, CT  06269-1133; Tel - (860)-486-4163; Fax - (860) 486-3726. Susan Ayers also responded similarly from the Center for Regenerative Biology at the University of Connecticut and Tina Burnham from the Department of Animal Science. Thanks Susan and Tina!

 

John Carroll University: “Yes, we’re implementing furloughs here at the university, although we’re not calling them that anymore so I don’t know if you’ll find this helpful. The final implemented plan is called the “Salary and Work Schedule Reduction” plan.   Basically, full-time staff and administrators get an extra 10 days off over the year and a salary reduction spread out over the year equivalent to 10 days off but not tied to those days.  And if you’re an administrator, you don’t have to take the days off if you don’t want to. The plan doesn’t apply to faculty (who are covered by a separate contract), part-time or temporary employees, or grant funded positions.  The theory is that grant people will continue to work their regular hours for regular pay and are under a contract tied to deliverables and that full time employees will have a reduction in pay with a corresponding reduction in hours.”  Catherine T. Anson, MA, CRA, CIM; Director of Sponsored Research; John Carroll University, AD 250; University Heights, OH  44118-4581; TEL: 216-397-4520 | FAX: 216-397-3089; xxxxxx@jcu.edu | http://www.jcu.edu/research

 

UNC Chapel Hill: All state employees, including  University of North Carolina system (16 campuses) employees, will be furloughed 10 hours and will lose .5% of their annual salary.  The furlough applies to everyone, regardless of funding source.  UNC Chapel Hill administrators felt that it would be federal auditing issue if we treated employees funded on federal grants differently than other employees.” Lynne Brody; Univ of NC at Chapel Hill

 

UNC Charlotte: Hi Winnie, Thanks for asking this question; we’ve been wondering what others are doing as well. 1.  The University of North Carolina system, which consists of 16 state-supported institutions, has implemented a furlough plan for this fiscal year (ending June 30), and we anticipate they will do so again next fiscal year, too; 2.  The plan applies to all employees regardless of funding source; 3. They are not exempting non-state funded employees; they say this is an equity issue. I’m trying to find out now what the plans/process will be for those funds remaining in the grant accounts.  The state will not be taking those funds as they say this is strictly an equity issue. Thanks for sharing,”  Pamela K King; Director of Sponsored Research; 430H Fretwell Building; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; The University of North Carolina at Charlotte; 9201 University City Boulevard; Charlotte, NC  28223-0001; 704.687.0055 (office); 704.687.0089 (fax); xxxxxx@uncc.edu

 

University of Maryland, Baltimore: “Winnie, We are currently implementing Furloughs across the board no matter what the source of funding is.  We wanted consistency and also fairness.  Everyone is a state employee and all state employees must be furloughed no matter if it affects the state budget. (Electricity is still used, and so on, so the state budget is affected).  That was the rationale at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.” Dennis J. Paffrath; Executive Director;  Research Administration; University of Maryland, Baltimore; 410-706-1101; Fax 410-706-6630; xxxxxx@umaryland.edu

 

Towson: “Winnie, Thanks for your post on furloughs, this will be great information to have.  Here at Towson University, we have implemented furloughs at the Governor’s order.  Each institution within the University System of Maryland (of which Towson University is a member) came up with its own way of dealing with the furloughs.  Here at Towson, the number of furlough days each employ is required to take is determined by salary – from none for those making $30,000 or less to 5 for those making $100,000 or more.  Our president voluntarily offered to take a sixth furlough day.  All furlough days were to be “served” (not that it’s a prison sentence, just can’t think of a better word!) by June 30, although another round of furloughs has not been ruled out. All you never wanted to know about this, including a detailed breakdown of the number of furlough days by salary, is available at http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/hr/employment/documents/TUFurloughFAQs_final.pdf Employees fully funded by grants/contracts were not furloughed, as this wouldn’t represent a savings in state funds.  Although this is not an A-21 issue, I disagreed with the decision and felt that out of fairness everyone should be furloughed.  I know that some sister System schools did not exempt grant-funded employees.  Hope this helps, and I’m really interested in hearing the responses to your post. Best, Mary Louise”  Mary Louise Healy; Assistant Vice President for Research; Office of University Research Services; Towson University; 8000 York Road; Towson, MD  21252; (410) 704-4931; FAX (410) 704-4494; http://www.towson.edu/ours

 

University of California San Diego: “Winnie, My university (UCSD) and the UC system as a whole is in fact considering furloughs (or layoffs or both), probably in the next fiscal  year (starting 7/09).   It's not clear to whom the furlough would apply, and I've heard many argue that it shouldn't be applied to those whose salary comes 100% from non-state funds (i.e., contracts, grants, etc.), but I don't know how you could apply a furlough to only certain groups.  We also have union issues here, and aren't sure whether the unions will allow the University to furlough its members.   So there is a lot of uncertainty here.    I know there are a few universities out there (including yours, right?) who have implemented furloughs across the board (regardless of source of funding).    As a manager, from a staff morale perspective, I would think furloughs would be more palatable then an outright pay cut.   Either way you cut it, it's been a grim year here. Hope this helps.  I'm looking forward to hearing other responses too. Anne.” Anne J. Footer; Management Services Officer; Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL) and Joint Institute for Marine Observations (JIMO); Scripps Institution of Oceanography

University of California San Diego; 291 Rosecrans Street; San Diego, CA 92106; tel: 858.534.1802/534.7792; fax: 858.822.0665; email: xxxxxx@ucsd.edu

 

Thanks to everyone who responded regarding their furlough policies, and apologies to all for the delay in providing this summary! The discussion turned in other directions and I wanted to wait until that had been completed to respond!

 

Best,

 

Winnie

 

Wilma G. (Winnie) Ennenga

Director, Office of Grant and Contract Services

Northern Arizona University

Applied Research and Development Bldg. #56, Suite 240

1298 South Knoles Drive

Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4130

 

Telephone: 928/523-8319

Fax: 928/523-1075

 

P Please consider the environment before printing this email

 

 

 

Hello colleagues:  

I'm curious - of the institutions that have implemented furloughs for employees (or are preparing to do so), how many are permitting their sponsored award funded employees to work and not take furloughs?   I know there are a few universities out there that have decided to permit this inconsistency in treatment.   What rationale is being used to defend such action?  (I can come up with a few but I wanted to see your thoughts on the matter.)

We're currently having this debate at my institution, just fyi.

Thank you in advance for your comments!

Rochelle R. Athey, CRA
Executive Director
Office of Sponsored Programs
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Mail Code1055
Las Vegas, NV 89154-1055
702-895-1357 office
702-895-4379 fax

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