The following guidelines and procedures have been announced for 2011 non-recurring merit bonus awards. As per the Memorandum of Agreement between UFF-FSU and the FSU Board of Trustees, bonuses will average $750 per faculty FTE and will be distributed based on established departmental evaluation procedures.
UFF-BOT Memorandum of Agreement on Merit Awards
Worksheet to be completed by deans and chairs regarding distribution of Merit Awards
UFF-FSU is examining several proposals for major reform of higher education in Florida. For now, we refer you to the following resource pages:
The Seven Breakthrough Solutions proposed for higher education in Texas are inspiring Governor Scott to consider similar reforms in Florida. For a humorous analysis of the Texas proposal, see these two 8-minute animated videos, produced by faculty at Texas A&M. For more formal responses, see Maintaining Excellence and Efficiency at UT-Austin: A Response to the “Seven Breakthroughs Solutions” and Other Proposals and Analysis of Efficiency and Graduation Rates at UT-Austin and Other Public Research Universities in the U.S., both published by the University of Texas – Austin.
We also suggest that you read Breakthrough Solutions for Higher Education: Florida Can Do Better than Texas, the document that President Barron presented to the FSU Board of Trustees at their September 2011 meeting, as well as the associated Tallahassee Democrat article.
The UFF and the BOT, via a joint BOT-UFF committee, have been working for several months on a plan to reclassify Non-Tenure Track Faculty (NTTF) positions. The initial impetus for this plan came from a Faculty Senate Report and from UFF-FSU survey results consistently revealing employment security as a top concern for NTTF. The plan provides a framework to address these issues. Essentially, the Joint Committee has worked out how the Collective Bargaining Agreement can be changed to accommodate the reclassification plan.
Several key elements are still under discussion at the joint BOT-UFF committee. In the report (see link below) these elements are highlighted. The remainder of the plan can be considered tentatively agreed upon. Please note that the the joint committee will recommend its final report to BOT and UFF negotiators as a basis for further negotiations. Assuming those negotiations produce an agreement, that agreement must then be ratified by the BOT and the faculty. Further, some aspects of the report will require approval by the Public Employees Relations Commission.
Some important parts of this plan include:
The NTTF Working Draft is available at this link:
Negotiations are expected to reopen in May. We will be soliciting input later in the spring, but faculty members are welcome to send comments to Scott Hannahs, Co-Chair of the faculty bargaining team <[email protected]>.
