Guidance issued - Addressing COVID-19 in Faculty Annual Reviews

Senior Vice Provost Rodríguez recently issued guidance for faculty to address the impact of COVID-19 on their research/scholarship/creative work, teaching, and service in the narrative summaries they prepare for their annual performance reviews.

The memo detailing points to consider in documenting impacts can be accessed here.

UNM Extends E-PSL through June 30, 2021

The Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division has confirmed the expiration date of December 31, 2020 for the requirement for employers to provide paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). More information on workers’ and employers’ rights and responsibilities after this date can be found on the Wage and Hour Division’s FFCRA Questions and Answers webpage.

To continue supporting all UNM employees, senior leadership has chosen to voluntarily continue the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (E-PSL) provision of FFCRA, which allows for two weeks of paid leave (up to 80 hours), pro-rated based on FTE and average hours worked through June 30, 2021. Since this is an extension of existing benefits, employees who have exhausted the total hours allowed under FFCRA are not eligible for additional E-PSL hours. Employees utilizing E-PSL will be compensated at their regular rate of pay. Employees who have unused E-PSL balances and those with pending E-PSL requests do not need to submit a new request or additional information.

Eligibility

UNM and UNM HSC employees (faculty, staff and students; excluding UNMH) meeting one or more of the following criteria:

• Are subject to a quarantine/isolation order related to COVID-19
• Have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19
• Are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
• Are caring for an individual subject to quarantine or isolation
• Are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed
• Are experiencing any other, substantially similar situation

To request Emergency Paid Sick Leave (E-PSL), please visit hr.unm.edu/cv19/ffcra. If you have questions regarding your eligibility for E-PSL, contact the Office of Faculty Affairs and Services at faculty@unm.edu.

Temporary and Voluntary Reduction in FTE - Spring 2021 semester.

UA-UNM and UNM Administration have been working diligently and collaboratively over the past few weeks on a faculty benefit for Spring 2021. In the hopes of offering faculty some relief from the strain of working during a pandemic and while possibly caring for others, we have negotiated a Temporary and Voluntary Reduction in FTE, namely a one-course release for spring. The benefit is paid via a 7% reduction in one’s annual salary, resulting in a 14% pay reduction per month for the spring 2021 semester.

Department administrators may use the form - Temporary and Voluntary Reduction (TVR) - to submit requests to faculty@unm.edu.

New requirement for faculty searches: DiversityEdu.

In order to increase awareness and lessen the impact of implicit bias in academic decision making, and in faculty searches specifically, the Office of Academic Affairs requires all Search Committee members to complete the online DiversityEdu course at least once every four years. The Division of Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is making DiversityEdu available to search committees free of charge. DEI will send a link to DiversityEdu and verify course completion. Approval for faculty searches is contingent upon completion of DiversityEdu by search committee members.

Please note that it works best with Google Chrome. This 75-minute training can be stopped and restarted, and offers a certificate of completion, bibliography, and a document outlining "Ground Rules and Guidelines for Diversity Competent Faculty Searches".

Voluntary Retirement Incentive Option

UNM is offering a Voluntary Retirement Incentive Option (VRIO) to eligible faculty and staff. Those determined eligible will be contacted via email by Benefits & Employee Wellness on Monday, August 24, 2020. If you believe you are eligible and have not received an email from hrbenefits@unm.edu, email your inquiry to vrio@unm.edu.

 Details about this Benefits program can be found at https://hr.unm.edu/retirement/vrio.

Tenure & Promotion Guidelines

Provided below are deadlines and guidelines for the organization and submittal of dossier materials for Provost-level review. Deans are responsible for setting internal deadlines for college-level review.

• Promotion to Full: March 5, 2021 5:00pm
• Tenure & Promotion: March 5, 2021 5:00pm
• Mid-Probationary: March 26, 2021 5:00pm
• All Lecturer Promotion: April 2, 2021 5:00pm

Colleges and Departments should set deadlines that allow sufficient time for review and decision-making to meet these firm deadlines listed above.  These deadlines can be found on pages 16-17 of the Guidelines for Dossier Submittal and Review for Main and Branch Campus Candidates.

Summer 2020 Research Guidelines for Nine-Month Faculty

The Offices of the Provost and the VP for Research on Main Campus have issued summer research guidelines for nine-month faculty. If you any questions regarding the summer research guidelines, please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs & Services at faculty@unm.edu. Please note that funding agencies (e.g., National Science Foundation) may also have specific requirements for nine-month faculty.

• Memo from the OVPR & SVP
• Summer Research Guidelines
• Updated Summer Research Form

Extension of Probationary Period (“tenure clock”) due to COVID-19

On April 10, 2020, Provost Holloway, in consultation with the UNM Committee on Governance, UNM Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee, and with the endorsement of the UNM Faculty Senate Operations Committee, enacted an automatic one-year extension to the probationary period ("tenure clock") for all currently appointed UNM tenure-track faculty who are not presently under review for tenure and promotion.

Similarly, the UNM Administration, UA-UNM, AF&T, and the Faculty Senate Operations Committee collaborated to provide newly-appointment (Fall 2020) UNM tenure-track faculty an automatic one-year extension to the probationary period.

Faculty members who wish to opt-out of the automatic one-year extension are encouraged to consult with their department chair before making a decision on the timing of the review. To opt-out of the automatic one-year extension, faculty members must submit the Opt-Out notification form to the Department Chair, Dean, and Sr. Vice Provost. (To sign with your adobe digital signature be sure to download the form to your computer)

Do you have questions about the extension of the 'tenure clock' due to COVID-19? Read the frequently asked questions (FAQs) associated with this new policy.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act

The U.S. Congress recently enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  The FFCRA contains two new paid leave provisions to provide support to employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Emergency Paid Sick Leave (E-PSL) Act
• Emergency Family and Medical Leave (E-FML) Expansion Act

Leave Allowance – E-PSL

E-PSL provisions allow for two weeks of paid leave (up to 80) hours, pro-rated based on FTE and average hours worked. Employees will be compensated at their regular rate of pay for personal illness or to care for loved ones who are ill.

UNM and UNM HSC employees (faculty, staff and students) meeting one or more of the following criteria:

1. Are subject to a quarantine/isolation order related to COVID-19
2. Have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19
3. Are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
4. Are caring for an individual subject to quarantine or isolation
5. Are caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed
6. Are experiencing any other, substantially similar situation

For more detailed information regarding eligibility, you may also visit https://hr.unm.edu/cv19/ffcra. 

Requesting E-PSL

Click here to submit a request for Emergency-Paid Sick Leave.

Faculty and post-doctoral fellows, on main and branch campuses, who have specific eligibility questions, may contact the Office of Faculty Affairs and Services at faculty@unm.edu. 

Frequently asked questions – Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFRCA) can be found at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-questions

Leave Allowance – E-FML

The Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (E-FML) provides up to 10 weeks of paid leave under FMLA, for specific employees who are caring for a child under the age of 18, whose school or place of care has closed due to COVID-19 and are unable to work or telecommute. Faculty with 12-month contracts, including faculty executives, research faculty, and post-doctoral fellows, are required to take annual leave concurrently with E-FML. E-FML is available after annual leave exhausted. Employees, approved to take E-FML, are entitled to pay at 2/3rds of their regular rate, up to a max of $25 per hour, for up to a total of 10 weeks combined annual leave and E-FML (total of 400 hours, pro-rated by FTE and averaged hours worked).

Eligibility

UNM staff, faculty, and student employees who are unable to work or telecommute because they are caring for a child under the age of 18 whose school or place of care has closed due to COVID-19.

Due to their critical need, UNM employees working at the HSC and others performing critical campus operations – employees of UNMPD, SHAC, SRS, and all other emergency management, public works and utilities employees, regardless of their duty station – are excluded from coverage under E-FML.

Requesting E-FML

E-FML is an available paid leave option effective from April 1 – December 31, 2020.

Click here to submit a request for Emergency Family and Medical Leave.

Faculty and post-doctoral fellows, on main and branch campuses, who have specific eligibility questions, may contact the Office of Faculty Affairs and Services at faculty@unm.edu.

Deans' Council Meeting

On September 12, 2019, at the Deans' Council Meeting, Senior Vice Provost Barbara Rodríguez announced a change to the hiring procedures to improve the efficiency of the faculty hiring process. Effectively immediately, main and branch campus faculty search committee coordinators are no longer required to upload the screening matrix to UNM Jobs. The screening matrix, an important component of the department’s faculty search documents, is to be retained within the department for 5 years. SVP Rodríguez will periodically request screening matrices, from search committee coordinators, to ensure consistent and fair screening practices.

Working Retiree Update

Effective July 1, 2019 NMERB revised guidance regarding certification of eligibility to return to work for all working retirees.

• The new rule will require retirees applying to return to work July 1, 2019 or after will be limited to working .25 FTE or less.
• The current exception provision limiting salary to $15,000 will no longer be available on July 1, 2019.
• For more information regarding these changes please visit: http://nmerb.org/ or contact UNM Benefits at 505-277-6947 or HRBenefits@unm.edu
• The new form can be found online at: https://hr.unm.edu/docs/employment/nmerb-return-to-work-application.pdf

Mass Salary Update Guidelines

Please visit: https://hr.unm.edu/mass-salary-update

Summer Research Guidelines and Updates 

• Memo from the OVPR & SVP
• Link to Guidelines
• Link to updated Summer Research Form

Faculty Hiring Guidelines Updated

• View the updated guidelines issued by Academic Affairs on 2/21/19:  Hiring Guidelines, Hiring Procedures

Winter Break Deadlines

• Find winter break deadlines and more in the Employment Knowledge Base

Recruiting Deadlines

• Requisitions: Allow a minimum of 15-30 days for National Recruitments. You may extend the recruitment period beyond 30 days as necessary. 
• Hiring Requests: The hire request should be completed no later than the month prior to the start date following the same deadlines identified in the calendar below. This allows time for approvals and completion of all onboarding tasks. Example: If a research faculty is set to begin July 2, submit the request by June 8.

Monthly Deadlines

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