September 22, 2005
September's Scoop
Certain questions seem to surface every season. Others hover – waiting indefinitely for some definitive response. From time to time, I hope to use this space to capture these questions and to document answers. Below are two puzzlers. You are welcome to submit your own queries.
Are funds available for programs offered by the Office of Information Technologies or Human Resources?
Yes. Each Division has some money set aside to support faculty and staff development. An individual who identifies an appealing program should work through his/her supervisor and department head to request funding. Although no one person can attend every class every time, support is often available . This is especially true for programs that relate to one’s position or to one’s job-related learning goals as stated in the Development section of the annual review. Some support is also available for more general programs.
When a Library or University employee is applying for a position in the Library, may the interviewing supervisor see recent evaluations for that employee and speak with that employee’s current supervisor?
Yes. Before the interviewing supervisor determines which candidate to hire, he or she should check the references for that candidate and any other candidate in the final pool The supervisor may contact 221 staff (or HR) to review recent (usually the last 3) performance reviews. As a general courtesy, the interviewing supervisor should inform the candidate before contacting his or her current supervisor – since the applicant may not have yet told that supervisor about the application.
Jo Bessler