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I. Introduction and Program Description
The employee and student (hereinafter referred to as employee/student)
incentive awards
program at Montana State University-Northern is modeled after the Incentive
Award
Program created by a special session of the Montana Legislature in November
1993.
The administrative rules to implement that legislation became effective
in September 1994.
In fall 2002, the Montana Board of Regents and the Office of the Commissioner
of Higher
Education for the State of Montana asked each unit of the Montana University
System to
develop an incentive program for its employees/students. The directive
specified that each
campus' program "…..should be consistent with the employee incentive
program that is
outlined in state statute at 2-18-1101, (Montana Codes Annotated), and
should allow
participation by students." A model policy from the personnel division
of the State of
Montana was suggested as a possible guide.
That model was used to develop the following policy at Montana State
University-Northern
(hereinafter referred to as MSU-Northern.)
The incentive awards program rewards outcomes and achievements which
can be
documented, rather than ideas or suggestions for future improvements to
MSU-
Northern's operations. To give this policy viability, program administrators
at MSU-
Northern are encouraged to implement ideas or suggestions as part of regular,
ongoing
management of the institution. An idea or suggestion becomes eligible
to be nominated for
an award when it is implemented or when documented achievements and outcomes
can be
determined. Recognition is also possible for improving the effectiveness
of MSU-Northern
or improving services to the public by permitting more work to be accomplished
within the
institution without increasing the cost of operations.
MSU-Northern will administer this program without the assistance or
oversight of any
other entity of state government in Montana. The chancellor at MSU-Northern
will have
final authority to grant incentive awards and determine their monetary
value.
Nominations for awards may come from current employees/students at MSU-Northern,
from employees of other State of Montana agencies, and from any other
person. Individual
employees/students at MSU-Northern, and groups or teams of employees/students
at
MSU-Northern, may be nominated for the awards. According to the model
policy proposed
by the State personnel division, persons who are not employed by MSU-Northern
may also
be nominated.
The Chancellor may approve up to $500, or up to 40 hours of paid leave,
for an award for
which a documented value cannot be calculated.
The Chancellor may approve an award, using the guidelines under section
VI. A. 2. of this
policy, for an achievement or outcome with a documented value.
As a normal part of their duties, employees are encouraged to take responsibility
for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their own areas. Those
efforts by classified employees may be recognized through the MAP program.
Ideas generated that are above and beyond the normal scope of the employee's
responsibilities could be recognized through this Employee and Student
Incentive Awards Program, if the suggestion is so meritorious as to warrant
special recognition.
II. Definitions
| A. |
"Employee" is defined in section 2-18-1101 of the Montana
Codes Annotated as follows: "an employee of the executive, legislative
or judicial branch or the Montana university system." |
| B. |
"Group or team of employees" is defined in section 2-18-1101
of the Montana Codes Annotated as follows: "a group, team or
work unit of employees working cooperatively." |
III. Program Coordinator
| A. |
The program coordinator for the employee incentive awards
program at MSU-Northern is the director of employee relations, (hereinafter
referred to as the program coordinator.) That program coordinator's
address is: Cowan Hall, Montana State University-Northern, Havre,
MT 59501; and the telephone number is (406) 265-3710. |
| B. |
The program coordinator is responsible for the following
activities: |
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1. |
receiving nominations for awards; |
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2. |
notifying nominees of the status of their nomination; |
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3. |
maintaining a tracking system for award nominations; |
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4. |
assisting a standing committee to evaluate and prioritize
nominations for awards; |
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5. |
promoting the program within MSU-Northern; |
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6. |
arranging presentation ceremonies, including obtaining
the monetary awards; |
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7. |
publicizing awards at MSU-Northern and with the media; |
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8. |
preparing the annual report of awards' activity for
the State of Montana Department of Administration; |
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9. |
making or arranging a reasonable accommodation to participate
in the program, if one is requested; |
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10. |
any other duty associated with this program assigned
by the Chancellor. |
IV. Procedure to Nominate Individuals, Groups or Teams
| A. |
As part of the ongoing process of managing MSU-Northern,
employees/students at
the institution, employees of other State of Montana agencies, and
other persons,
may submit ideas or suggestions which could contribute to the efficiency,
economy
or other improvement of MSU-Northern. Implementation of these ideas
or
suggestions is at the discretion of the appropriate manager at MSU-Northern.
An
implemented idea or suggestion could be nominated for an incentive
award based
on documentation of any outcome or achievement that occurs. MSU-Northern
may
want to document ideas or suggestions when submitted, although this
action would
precede any actual review by the incentive award program itself. |
| B. |
A nomination for an incentive award may be submitted
on a form provided by the program coordinator or in another written
format. The form provided by the program coordinator is attached to
this policy as Appendix I. |
| C. |
Individual employees/students, groups or teams of employees/students,
other State of Montana employees and any other person may submit award
nominations for consideration. |
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1. |
Nominations must include the following information to
be considered: |
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a. |
name, address and telephone number of the person(s)
submitting the nomination; |
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b. |
name(s), or groups or teams, of employees/students nominated
for the award; |
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c. |
description of how the outcome, achievement or savings
1) exceeds normal expectations for the employee/student, or group
of employees/students; or has an impact on the delivery of services
to the public; or directly and to what degree contributes to MSU-Northern's
objectives, goals and mission; |
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d. |
the dollar value of the documented savings, including
the method used to determine the value; |
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e. |
signature(s) of the submitter(s) and the date submitted.
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2. |
The program coordinator will date stamp each nomination,
which will become the
official receipt date of the nomination. The program coordinator will
notify the
submitter(s) that the nomination has been received. The program coordinator
may request additional information from submitter(s) in order to evaluate
the
nomination. |
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3. |
Nominations for incentive awards are public information
and available for review. |
| D. |
The following employees at MSU-Northern are not eligible
to receive an incentive
award under this program, and therefore, should not be nominated:
the chancellor,
the provost and senior vice chancellor, the vice chancellor for finance
and
administration/student affairs, the registrar, any person holding
a director position,
and the chairs/deans. |
V. Evaluation and Prioritization of Nominations for Awards
| A. |
The Chancellor makes the final decision to grant an
incentive award. The Chancellor resolves any and all disputes related
to granting an incentive award. |
| B. |
The Chancellor will appoint five (5) members to a standing
Incentive Award Committee and name a chairperson from those five (5)
members. The Committee members serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor. |
| C. |
The Committee will conduct an initial evaluation of
all incentive award nominations, determine if the nominations are
applicable to MSU-Northern, and prioritize the nominations for incentive
awards. |
| D. |
In making its decisions concerning applicability and
priority, the Committee will make non-binding recommendations to the
Chancellor concerning: |
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1. |
approval or disapproval of a nomination for an award;
and |
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2. |
an appropriate monetary or leave award. |
| E. |
The Committee will use the criteria set out in Appendix
II of this policy to evaluate and prioritize nominations. |
| F. |
The Committee may request additional assistance from
other MSU-Northern employees, other State employees, and/or any person
or group able to provide information necessary to make an informed
recommendation. |
| G. |
The Committee will meet as nominations are received,
but no more than once a month. Minutes of the meeting will be kept.
Meetings of the Committee are open to the public. |
| H. |
The Committee will document, in writing, the evaluation
and priority for each award, along with its recommendation to approve
or disapprove the nomination. |
| I. |
If the Committee determines that the nomination is not
applicable to Montana State University-Northern, the Committee may: |
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1. |
return the nomination to the submitter(s)
with an explanation for why it is not
applicable; or |
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2. |
after consultation with the program coordinator in another
State agency to which the nomination may apply, refer the nomination
to that agency and notify the submitter(s) of that action. |
| J. |
If the Committee determines that a nomination may be
applicable to MSU-Northern and another State agency or agencies, the
Committee may recommend that the program coordinator make contact
with program coordinators at the other State agencies to determine
if they would benefit from the nomination and would like to participate
in funding the final award. Such a determination, and the outcome
of discussions with other State agencies, will be included in the
recommendation of the Committee to the Chancellor. |
VI. Types of Incentive Awards
| A. |
Two types of incentive awards are available under this
program. |
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1. |
The first is an award for an achievement or outcome
that does not result in cost savings that can be specifically determined
a year after the achievement or outcome is implemented and the cost
savings actually incurred. |
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a. |
In this situation, the Chancellor may award a maximum
of $500 or the
Chancellor may award a maximum of 40 hours of paid leave time
for an employee. |
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b. |
Larger awards may be proposed and submitted to the Montana
Legislature for
consideration. |
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2. |
The second is an award for an achievement or outcome
producing cost savings that can be measured after the savings are
actually incurred. The Chancellor may grant an award that may not
exceed: |
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a. |
10% of the first $100,000 of cost savings actually incurred
during the 12 months following implementation of the suggestion; plus |
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b. |
5% of the next $100,000 of cost savings actually incurred
during that 12-month period; plus |
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c. |
2% of the next $100,000 of cost saving actually incurred
during that
12-month period. |
| B. |
If an award, described in section VI.A. above, is to
be divided between two or more
persons, the Chancellor will determine the amount each person is to
receive. |
VII. Presentation of Awards
| A. |
The Chancellor will make the final decision regarding
the adoption of an incentive award and the amount of the award. |
| B. |
The incentive award Committee, described in section
V. above, will compile its evaluations and priority recommendations
for awards, and forward that information to the Chancellor no later
than March 1 and September 1 of each year. |
| C. |
If the Chancellor decides to make an award, under this
policy, that presentation will take place during the following April
or October of each year. |
| D. |
The employee/student incentive awards will be presented
at a public ceremony on the campus of MSU-Northern. Names of award
recipients will be inscribed on a plaque which will be displayed in
Cowan Hall on the campus of MSU-Northern. |
| E. |
The list of awards set out in section 2-18-1106, Montana
Codes Annotated, will be prepared by the program coordinator and will
be provided to the Montana Department of Administration on the format
prescribed by the Department within 30 days of the end of each fiscal
year. |
VIII. Closing
| A. |
This policy supplements sections 2-18-1101 et seq. of the Montana
Codes Annotated; and sections 2.21.6701 et seq. of the Administrative
Regulations of Montana, also known as the Incentive Award Policy. |
| B. |
MSU-Northern will make reasonable accommodation for persons with
disabilities who wish to participate in the Incentive Award Program.
To request an accommodation, contact the program coordination at MSU-Northern,
c/o of the director of employee relations, Cowan Hall, MSU-Northern,
Havre, MT 5950l. The telephone number for that office is (406) 265-3710. |
APPENDIX I : Nomination Form
for The Employee/Student Incentive Award Program At Montana State University-Northern
APPENDIX II : Criteria to Evaluate and Prioritize
Nominations for The Employee/Student Incentive Award Program At Montana
State University-Northern
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