April 11, 2005
UA's Plus/Minus System Sticks
UA faculty recently voted through a campus-wide referendum to keep the current plus/minus system of grades. The referendum was issued through the Office for Academic Affairs. Faculty will continue to record pluses and minuses, which will not be calculated into the GPA.
The current system was implemented in 1992 after a faculty vote. The recent vote indicates that the faculty, after using the system for 10 years, feels assured of the system's benefits. The Student Government Association brought the issue before the faculty after surveying almost 4,000 students in hopes the system would be changed. About 67 percent of those students wanted the system changed; about the same percentage of voting faculty wanted to keep the system.
Current Issue of Advisor Explains PEEHIP
The April issue of the Retirement Systems of Alabama newsletter Advisor holds a special insert devoted to PEEHIP, the health insurance program available for all retired UA faculty and staff. The state of Alabama subsidizes the cost of annual premiums in the plan, which keeps the costs to retirees very low, a major benefit to retirees. UA employees receive the Advisor in the mail. It is also available online at http://www.rsa.state.al.us/.
As health care premiums for almost all plans in the U.S. are skyrocketing, the fate of PEEHIP's costs and subsidization during the Alabama Legislature's budgeting decisions are a major concern.
This year, The University of Alabama System's budget requests reflect the Governor's budget submitted to the Legislature. It requests that the Legislature cover the cost of health insurance for retirees. It also asks (in a supplemental budget request) that higher ed institutions be reimbursed for past payments into PEEHIP, based on it's being the Legislature's responsibility for making this benefit available to retirees.
At printing time, UA officials and employees are continuing to watch events in the Legislature unfold, as funding for employee raises are also at stake.
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