B 1
Employment Category Definitions - Academic
B 2
Employment Category Definitions - Administrative
B 3
Employment Category Definitions - Staff
B 4
Definition of Appointment
B 5
Definition of Personnel Action Request Form
B 6
Staff Regent Election Rules and Regulations
B 7
Definition of Retiree
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORY DEFINITIONS: ACADEMIC
B 1.1
The academic category includes those positions with formal academic appointments and such other positions as may be designated by the President. Personnel in this category are primarily engaged in teaching, research, and service having a direct relationship to academic programs.
B 1.2
These Personnel Policies do not apply to positions in the academic category.
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORY DEFINITIONS: ADMINISTRATIVE
B 2.1
The administrative category includes administrative officers and heads of major service units and/or departments. The designation of a position within this category must be made by the President.
B 2.2
These Personnel Policies do apply to position in the administrative category.
EMPLOYMENT CATEGORY DEFINITIONS: STAFF
B 3.1
The staff category includes all positions not covered in the "Academic" or "Administrative" definition. Personnel in this category are engaged in non-teaching activities.
B 3.2
These Personnel Policies do apply to positions in the staff category.
B 3.3
DEFINITIONS AND GROUPING OF STAFF POSITIONS
Managerial/Supervisory Staff Positions
This designation is applied to those positions that are responsible for performing either general and/or special assistance to an administrative officer by assisting in developing and administering plans, systems, procedures or policies; or by providing specialized administrative financial or management skills, abilities, and knowledge; or by providing a co-coordinative function between several units or sections of the organization.
This designation may also be applied to those positions having duties and responsibilities involving supervisory and/or managerial functions in the operation of a department, office, craft, trade, or section of a department, or division; or may be applied to a position that requires formal training at college or university level.
These positions may have the responsibility of assignment of work, scheduling of work, or reviewing work of other staff members. Authority to employ and discharge may or may not be a responsibility of these positions depending upon the specific assignment.
These positions must be recommended by the Department Head and Director of Human Resources, and be approved by the President.
Examples, for illustrative purposes only, are listed below:
Manager
Superintendent
Assistant Manager
Supervisor
Assistant to Director
Coordinator
B 3.4
Professional Staff Positions
These positions have an unusual variation in the degree of education, skill, or background necessary for job performance. These positions may require considerable judgment, responsibility, and initiative and may require special certification and/or equivalent university level training. These positions may be connected with the faculty, staff, or public. A wide range of professional skills are included in this category due to the nature and scope of the many special functions assigned to various departments.
These positions require a specialized service in a recognized profession or skill and may include such responsibilities as consulting or advisory services to the staff, students, or public as part of an administrative or management organization.
Qualifications necessary for receiving this designation require training or education of a formal nature that is normally associated with university or college degree level attainment or its equivalent. This designation may also be applied to certain occupational categories that require registration or certification of qualified graduates from a recognized school or program of three years or more in a specialized field.
Positions receiving this designation must be recommended by the Department Head and Director of Human Resources, and be approved by the President.
Examples, for illustrative purposes only, are listed below:
Engineer
Artist
Accountant
Photographer
Registered Nurse
Editor
B 3.5
Technical and Scientific Staff Positions
These positions are generally involved in performing the necessary supporting tasks that are vital to the successful completion of research or instructional activities and may be assigned responsibilities of a technical nature. These positions require comprehensive and extensive training or formal education in a specialized field.
This designation will be applied to those occupational categories that require graduation from a recognized school or program in the applicable specialty of two years duration; or two years of college or university level attainment; or its equivalent.
Positions receiving this designation must be recommended by the Department Head and approved by the Director of Human Resources.
Examples, for illustrative purposes only, are listed below:
Practical Nurse
Lab Assistant
Laboratory Technician
Draftsman
Lab Preparator
Printer
B 3.6
Office and Clerical Staff Positions
These positions provide a wide range of services connected with processing, collecting, recording, and distributing a variety of records, reports, and other informational data concerned with students, faculty, staff, finances, and other related University Services.
These positions may required high school education or above and range from routine, repetitive jobs to those which require extensive experience, skill or ability.
Positions receiving this designation must be recommended by the Department Head and approved by the Director of Human Resources.
Examples, for illustrative purposes only, are listed below:
Clerk/Typist
Library Assistant
Receptionist
Account Clerk
Secretary
Records Clerk
Keypunch Operator
Administrative Secretary
B 3.7
Service and Maintenance Positions
These positions provide the services necessary to construct, repair, maintain, and operate the various physical plant facilities. These positions range from those that require minimal education and unskilled duties to those that require highly developed skills, abilities, or knowledge involving extensive experience or apprenticeships and/or special schooling.
Positions receiving this designation must be recommended by the Department Head and approved by the Director of Human Resources.
Examples, for illustrative purposes only, are listed below:
Custodian
Stationary Engineer
Groundsman
Safety Officers
Painter
Mail Carriers
General Maintenance
Shipping/Receiving Clerk
B 4.1
Each staff member is designated as either a regular or temporary employee. An employee can be employed on a full-time or part-time basis in either of these categories.
B 4.2
A regular employee is defined as:
(1) one whose employment is expected to continue beyond one year, and
(2) one whose regular schedule is 20 hours or more per week.
B 4.3
A temporary employee is defined as:
(1) one who is employed in a position where the hours of work are not scheduled at regularly recurring hours, or
(2) one whose employment is less than 20 hours a week, or
(3) one who is employed for a limited period of one year or less, whether or not the pay is on an hourly or monthly basis, or
(4) one who is employed as either an interim replacement for a position until the search has been completed to fill the position on a regular basis or for a position that is expected to last less than six (6) months. These positions can be either full or part-time.
Note: The six (6) month limitation does not apply to departments that need the assistance of occasional "on-call" employees during the year, unless the employees are scheduled to work on a continuous basis for more than a month at a time, or
(5) one is a federal or institutional work-study student.
B 4.4
A contract employee is defined as:
One whose temporary position is expected to exceed six (6) months. This status requires the initiation of a contract with the individual, thus providing specific job duties for a specific length of time. The position is to be no more than thirty-six (36) months maximum, unless approved by the President. The University may wish to issue the contracts in six (6) months to one (1) year increments. The contract must be approved by Human Resources and the President of the University or designee. The contract employee is eligible for benefits assigned to his job classification and as any other employee governed by the University's policies and procedures. This position must be referred by Human Resources, reviewed by Affirmative Action, and posted.
B 4.4.1
A grant contract employee is defined as:
Grant contracts are funds awarded to the University to support a specific project or program. A grant contract funded, time-limited position is one created for the specific purpose of providing public service employment or one-time special or research project services for a limited period of time, and shall not exceed the period of time for which that specific funding is provided.
A grant/contract employee can be designated as either part-time or full-time.
B 4.5
A part-time employee is defined as:
One who works less than 37 1/2 hours a week on a regularly scheduled basis.
B 4.6
All policies in this manual are applicable to regular full-time employees.
B. 4.7
All policies in this manual are applicable to regular part-time employees except those relating to "Leaves and Absences" and "Employee Benefits". Regular part-time employees may consult the Human Resources Department for information on policies affecting them in these two areas.
PERSONNEL ACTION REQUEST FORM (PAR)
Purpose
B 5.1
The Personnel Action Request Form (PAR) allows the University to keep current updated records on all employees. This form provides an effective way to put employees on the payroll. Paychecks cannot be issued until the appropriate PAR sections have been completed and the request has been approved.
Usage
B 5.2
A form should be completed for new and returning employees, for status changes and salary changes, and for terminations and leaves of absences. For new and returning employees the PAR must be submitted to Human Resources prior to the first day of work.
The PAR will be completed by the chairman/director directly responsible for the departmental budget.
The department head will complete and sign the PAR for all departmental staff personnel, such as secretaries, clerks, lab preparators, etc.
The PAR will be completed and signed by the department head and signed by the Provost for all full-time and part-time faculty. A copy of the faculty member's contract will be attached to the PAR by the Provost's Office.
The PAR will be completed by the Provost for all department chairmen.
Content
B 5.3
Instructions for completion of the PAR are on the back page of the form. Following is a copy of the PAR for reference.
STAFF REGENT ELECTION RULES AND REGULATIONS
Introduction
The Board of Regents is the governing body of Northern Kentucky University. Its duties and responsibilities are extensive. These areas of responsibility include the education of external and internal constituencies about the institutions; the governance of the University; and the charge to work together for the common good of the University. The Staff Regent would fulfill those duties and responsibilities as well as being a voice for non-faculty staff.
Election Rules and Regulations
B 6.1
The Election Committee of the Staff Regent shall organize and carry out the election of the regent and report the results to the campus community.
B 6.2
The election committee shall be appointed no later than January 1 of the year of a regent election. Interim elections may be necessary to fill an unexpired term if the Staff Regent leaves the University before his/her term has expired or is otherwise unable to fulfill the balance of his/her term. The committee will be appointed by the President to represent all areas of the University and levels of staff not to exceed six people. The committee shall be comprised of two members of Staff Congress, two staff who are not members of Staff Congress, an administrator and a representative from Human Resources.
B 6.3
The committee chair shall obtain, from Human Resources, a list of staff and determine the eligibility of staff to become candidates for Staff Regent. Questions of eligibility may be raised with Human Resources.
B 6.4
The election committee shall also determine the eligibility of all staff to vote in the election for Staff Regent. Any full- or -part-time regular staff member hired prior to January 1 of the year of a regent election, including those staff whose positions are grant or contract, is eligible to vote for Staff Regent. Those individuals who are eligible to vote in Faculty Regent elections are ineligible to vote for Staff Regent.
Staff eligible to run for Staff Regent are full-time regular staff with three or more consecutive years of service that could include grant or contract service. An exception to this is the Staff Congress President who is not eligible to run during the duration of his/her term as President.
B 6.5
The election committee is deemed the board of elections and is empowered to rule on matters pertinent to the election process, such as eligibility of a staff member to become a candidate for Staff Regent and the eligibility of a staff member to vote for Staff Regent. The committee is further empowered to interpret the rules for election and other related procedural matters.
B 6.6
The committee shall issue a call for nominations, which shall include a listing of the eligibility criteria for running for Staff Regent. The call shall be sent out to all staff and published as a public notice in the Staff Congress Newsletter and the Campus Digest.
The announcement shall include (1) the eligibility requirements for running for Staff Regent, (2) a statement indicating that nominations and questions concerning the election procedures should be directed to the chair of the election committee, (3) the deadline for submissions of nominations, including the date and hour, (4) a statement indicating that the person being nominated must sign a statement indicating a willingness to serve as Staff Regent, if elected, and (5) a statement specifying the duration of the tenure of the Staff Regent (3 years).
B 6.7
The election committee will announce the names of the candidates, listed in alphabetical order, and the dates of the election.
B 6.8
Each nominee for the position of Staff Regent, upon becoming a candidate, will receive a copy of the procedural rules.
B 6.9
At the discretion of the election committee, a balloting system will be developed for the election.
B 6.10
The announcement of the names of the candidates and the election information shall be made no less than seven calendar days before the election.
B 6.11
There will be an open forum for candidates two times during the week before the election.
B 6.12
Candidates' names will be listed on the ballot in alphabetical order, and voting instructions will be included on the ballots.
B 6.13
The election committee shall have the responsibility for conducting the election.
A roster of those eligible to vote will be created and these individuals will be sent electronically to the site for the online balloting system.
B 6.14
Voters shall vote for one candidate only by checking the box next to the name of the candidate he/she is voting for. If more than one name is checked, the ballot will be ruled invalid.
B 6.15
Ballots will be automatically tallied when received by the online balloting database.
B 6.16
If the election yields a winner (with one candidate receiving a simple majority), the result will subsequently be announced.
If the election results in a tie between the candidates, a run-off election will be scheduled no sooner than five days following the public announcement of the new election.
The procedure adhered to in the first election will be followed in subsequent run-off elections.
Public announcement of the run-off election will be made through the Staff Congress Newsletter and the Campus Digest.
B 6.17
Immediately following any election, the names of the winner and the votes cast will be available for candidates and other staff to review in Human Resources.
B 6.18
Immediately following the election, the candidates or their representative shall be notified by the Chair of the Election Committee of the results of the election. The Chairperson will release the results to the press.
DEFINITION OF RETIREE
Northern Kentucky University officially recognizes an employee as a retiree with all the rights and privileges of said designation when the employee separates from NKU for purposes of retirement with one of the following requirements:
Any age with at minimum of 30 years of service to the University;
An employee whose age plus years of service credit equals 70, with a minimum of 15 years of service to the University;
Any employee in a position classified as ‘hazardous’ for retirement system participation may retire with a minimum of 20 years of service credit.
Any age; provided that the employee applies for and is granted disability retirement benefit from the University-sponsored disability plan or full disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
B 7.2 Employees are encouraged to contact the Benefits Office/Human Resources at least three months prior to the expected retirement date to learn about the benefits and procedures necessary for a successful transition into retirement.