06/28/2006

Not all of this is as important to everyone as it is to some, but trust me, most of it is important to all.

1. I'm going on vacation tomorrow through July 19. Sheryl and I are going to Spain. Contact Mike if you have any issues while I'm gone.
2. Professional Development - I'm running out of time, so I have not been as thorough with the professional development database as I'd like. I've approved some and withheld approval on some others. Please check your entries in the professional development database and check with your supervisor if you have questions about what I have not yet approved. In some cases I've withheld approval because I haven't had time to talk to your supervisor about the entry.
3. APRs - Lisa will send you an email soon letting you know that the Annual Performance Review database is ready for you to start your entries. We have made several changes. We were required to add the first two pages from the standard UT review form. We are changing from a fiscal year review to a calendar year review. This review is for FY06 (July 2005 - June 2006). The next review will be for six months (July 2006 - December 2006). After that we will start doing this on a calendar year basis. Yes, I know we used to do all of this on a calendar year basis. We changed because we thought UT was changing to a fiscal year; turns out UT is changing to a calendar year.
4. Pay plan - I was unable to talk to everyone about the PDQ review process. I did talk to everyone with changes. You should get a letter from Human Resources in the next week or so that will explain the process better. PLEASE NOTE, we have been asked to design an agency specific "pay for performance" or bonus system. We will take until September to design the system so that it can be approved by the UT Board of Trustees in October and put into place for 2007. Your supervisor will have more information on this during your APR interview in July. And then, we'll get a draft of the plan for everyone to see before it's final.