UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Human Resources

Title IX Advisory Committee Meeting: Dec. 3

All members of the UP community are invited to join the Title IX Advisory Committee meeting to learn more about Title IX related policies, processes, and supports at UP and provide feedback and insight to help the Title IX office best serve our community.

The next Title IX Advisory Committee Meeting will be on Thursday, December 3, 9-10 a.m., on Zoom (https://uportland.zoom.us/j/97991828616). We hope you can join us.

The Title IX Advisory Committee has created three subcommittees to address needs in our community related to Title IX:

  • Cultural Change and Education Committee: designed for those interested in advocacy, getting information/resources out to campus, and being part of change change.
  • Student Advocacy Program Committee: designed to help build a student-driven advocacy program at UP.
  • Non-UP Confidential Resource Program Committee: designed to address student desire for an off-campus resource not affiliated with UP but likely located on campus.

Please let us know (titleix@up.edu) if you are interested in serving on a subcommittee or know someone who is. For more information contact Sarah Meiser, HR, at x8484 or meiser@up.edu.

Open Enrollment Open Now: Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Open Enrollment is happening now to renew or change medical, dental, flexible dpending accounts, supplemental life insurance, or Share the Savings plans. All benefitted employees must confirm or take this opportunity to change their healthcare and dental benefits each year.  You can do this today by logging into Online Open Enrollment and taking action at the bottom of the page. A change or confirmation must be done by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2020.

FAQ’S ABOUT OPEN ENROLLMENT

When is open enrollment? November 5, 2020, through 11:59 pm on Friday, November 20, 2020.

What is open enrollment? This is the period of time when you can sign up for new benefits or make changes to benefits. If you do not change benefits, you still need to confirm via Online Open Enrollment.

What happens if I miss the open enrollment deadline of 11:59 p.m. on November 20, 2020? If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to sign up for or make changes to benefits until open enrollment occurs next fall 2021, unless you have a situation that is considered a life event for benefits purposes.

Is there a grace period or can exceptions be made to the open enrollment deadline of 11:59 p.m. on November 20, 2020? Because of compliance requirements, there is no grace period and we cannot provide exceptions to the deadline.

What benefits are part of open enrollment? Medical and dental insurance (including Share the Savings benefits), flexible spending account benefits, and life insurance. You can find links to these forms on our HR Open Enrollment website.

Do I need to do anything if I have no changes? You still need to log into Online Open Enrollment and click on the confirm button.

Where can I find Health Plan Summaries? Health Plan documents are posted in the Human Resources pages in Pilots. Not all 2021 documents have been received by vendors so we will be posting them as they become available. Plans will remain the same as 2020. Rates can be found on the attached flyer.

If I need help or have questions, what should I do? You can email benefits@up.edu or leave a message at  503-943-8752.

COVID Updates, Reminders

As a reminder, Multnomah County continues to be in Phase I of State of Oregon COVID-19 requirements, according to Sandy Chung, human resources. More information can be found using this link. All UP employees should continue to work remotely to the maximum extent possible consistent with their job duties. We ask employees to continue to be mindful about following this University direction which is based on the University’s commitment to our community’s wellness and Oregon legal requirements.

Please remember that masks should cover your nose and mouth. If an individual is age 5 years or older, masks, face coverings, or face shields are currently required statewide for:

  • All private and public workplaces — for example banks, classrooms, construction sites, offices and meeting rooms — unless someone is alone in an office or in a private workspace.
  • Indoor public spaces — for example grocery stores, pharmacies, public transit, personal services providers, restaurants, bars and retail stores.
  • Public and private colleges and universities, and private career schools.
  • Indoor and outdoor markets and street fairs.
  • Outdoor public spaces when physical distancing of at least six feet is not possible.
  • Individuals with a disability or medical condition may request accommodation from a business or public space if they cannot wear a mask.
  • State website link with mask requirement information.

Please make sure to follow UP’s mask policy which is consistent with Oregon’s statewide mask requirement.

Support available to UP employees includes:

This primary source of information about COVID-19 as it pertains to the UP community is www.up.edu/coronavirus. It is strongly recommended that employees review the information on the site regularly.

As the University’s vice president for human resources and designated social distancing officer, I welcome your questions and requests for assistance. Please contact me at chung@up.edu or by calling (503) 943-8484. Also, anonymous reports or concerns can be shared via this link: www.lighthouse-services.com/up.

 

Open Enrollment Time: Nov. 5 Through Nov. 20

The University’s 2020 Open Enrollment period runs from Wednesday, November 5 through Friday, November 20, 2020. This is the time to either confirm or change medical and dental coverage, enroll in supplemental life insurance, and elect flexible spending accounts (FSA) for the coming 2021 calendar year.

The Open Enrollment Tool and the FSA Enrollment Form will be available on the HR website starting the first day of Open Enrollment. Information and instructions will be mailed to employees this week along with an an e-mail communication beginning Thursday, November 5.

Questions? Please contact Laura Barnard or Theresa Knott at benefits@up.edu.

Invitation To Join Work Of The Title IX Team

As you may have seen recently in The Beacon, all members of the UP community are invited to attend Title IX Advisory Committee meetings. The work of preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based harassment, misconduct, and violence and the barriers to education they create, requires our entire community and cannot be the lone work of a committee or office.

There will be one more Title IX Advisory Committee meeting (via Zoom) in October; we hope you can join us.

On October 22, 9 to 10 a.m., we will have a remote meeting on Zoom. At this meeting we will be discussing the relevance of “The Bystander Moment” in our UP community and other agenda items relevant to the work of the Title IX Office and our community.

Remote meetings can be accessed by using this link.

Please communicate your interest in attending meetings and topics you’d like the committee to address at future meetings at this link. Knowing ahead of time who is planning to attend meetings allows for efficient sharing of information in our remote format.

We look forward to hearing from you and discussing these important topics with our community.

If you have any questions or need any accommodations to fully participate, please contact Sarah Meiser, deputy Title IX coordinator for compliance, at meisers@up.edu.

 

2020 Professional Development Week, October 12-16

The human resources office has set up Zoom workshops for UP employees this week, according to Sandy Chung, HR. Because these workshops are voluntary, they can be done during your work time as approved by a supervisor or outside your work time if you wish to participate voluntarily for your own enrichment. Employees with any type of furlough are welcome to participate.

Please email hr@up.edu if you have any questions.

Also, we encourage you to participate in the diversity, inclusion, and equity workshops presented by the Office of International Education, Diversity and Inclusion, International Programs, and Studies Abroad. The next workshop is, “Understanding One’s Own Identity & Implicit Bias,” October 23, 4:15-6:45 p.m. Last day to sign up is October 21, by 3 p.m. RSVP via Engage at this link.

New UP Policy: Workplace Fairness Act

The State of Oregon passed a law called the Workplace Fairness Act, and the President’s Leadership Cabinet has implemented a new University policy consistent with this law, according to Sandy Chung, human resources. This new policy is called the Addendum to Harassment and Discrimination Policies. All University employees are encouraged to review this policy. This policy has links to other relevant policies and resources embedded in it, and it will be uploaded to up.edu/hr/workplace-concerns.

The Human Resources team is preparing several voluntary online workshops for UP employees during fall break week (October 12-16). Several of these workshops are on topics related to self-care. As well, there will be a Zoom workshop during fall break week about harassment and discrimination policies and processes at UP. Human resources will provide more information about these workshops next week.

If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to hr@up.edu.

Notice About Change to Retirement Plan

University president Fr. Mark Poorman, C.S.C.. and interim VP for financial affairs Eric Barger have notified the UP community that, in the face of unprecedented financial shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University would be pausing employer contributions to retirement plans. Consistent with these prior messages, the Office of Human Resources will have a notice about this change mailed to all employees. You can also access a pdf of this notice at this link: Notice About Change of University of Portland’s Employer Contribution Rate for Retirement Plan.

As well, it has been a difficult week with the wild fires in Oregon. If you need any type of support, please let us know in Human Resources so we can support you.

Support available to all employees

Campus Ministry – ministry@up.edu, (503) 943-7131

Employee Assistance Program (free and confidential) – www.up.edu/hr/benefits/eap, (800) 433-2320

Human Resources – hr@up.edu, (503) 943-8484

Sandy – chung@up.edu, (503) 943-8484 (office), (310) 779-2406 (cell phone)

New P-Card Coordinator

Please NoteAmeneh Ameripour has joined the Office of the Controller as the new purchasing card coordinator replacing Theresa Knott. Ameneh has previous higher education experience and is excited to meet and work with everyone. Please direct your P-card questions to Ameneh at ameripou@up.edu or pcard@up.edu. Theresa didn’t go far! She remains at UP and has recently joined the Office of Human Resources as the benefits coordinator.

For more information, contact Lori Watson, controller’s office, 7337 or watson@up.edu.

TIAA Counseling Sessions: Schedule Now

Rebecca Rohleder, our TIAA financial consultant, is currently scheduling online appointments through the link below, according to Laura Barnard, human resources.

Go to TIAA – Schedule Now or call TIAA at 877.842.2028, press 5 to schedule an appointment today.

Visit TIAA website and follow the simple instructions to sign up for access to your retirement accounts online. If you have any questions, please contact our benefits team at  benefits@up.edu.