Benefits open enrollment is being conducted electronically again this year.  HR has again worked with LIS to improve and enhance the electronic open enrollment process from last year.   You will be receiving an e-mail detailing our 2011 benefits as well as step-by-step instructions on how to enroll using BannerWeb.  Human Resources will gladly help you through the process; if you have questions please call x3520.

Flexible Spending Accounts – it’s not too early to start calculating your 2012 annual election.  If you will have large medical expenses next year (orthodontist work, laser eye surgery, etc.) you should make sure you know how much your out of pocket cost will be for these services before Open Enrollment starts.  For additional information on Flexible Spending Accounts, including a Planning Worksheet visit http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/flex.

All benefits eligible Faculty and Staff are required to complete Open Enrollment between November 1^st & 14^th.

Human Resources is pleased to announce that effective April 15, 2011 we will launch an enhanced Middlebury College website with CBA Blue. Here Middlebury College and Monterey Institute members will find resources that allow them to manage their Health, Dental, and Flexible Spending Plans. This enhanced website is designed to be more user-friendly and to have a central site that links to other sites to manage your care.

• View medical and dental claims
• Review flexible spending claims and account balances
• Locate network providers and pharmacies
• Take advantage of our mail order pharmacy
• Forms library with medical, dental, flexible spending claims forms
• Contact information for CBA Blue

Link to the new website from HR’s Medical and Dental page

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/healthanddental
or  https://select.cbabluevt.com/middlebury/

Benefits open enrollment is being conducted electronically again this year.  HR has again worked with LIS to improve and enhance the electronic open enrollment process from last year.   You will be receiving an e-mail detailing our 2011 benefits as well as step-by-step instructions on how to enroll using BannerWeb.  Human Resources will gladly help you through the process; if you have questions please call x3520.

All benefits eligible Faculty and Staff are required to complete Open Enrollment between November 1st & 14th.

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO HEALTH CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING PLAN

The Affordable Care Act changes the definition of medical expenses for Health Care Flexible Spending plans.  Beginning January 1, 2011 Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs and medicines must be accompanied by a physician’s prescription in order to be reimbursed under a Health Care Flexible Spending Account.  This means that items such as cough medicines, pain relievers, acid controllers, and diaper rash ointment will now require a doctor’s prescription to be submitted along with the reimbursement request.  Insulin and other OTC items, such as band-aids, will continue to be eligible without a prescription.  Please visit the Flexible Spending Accounts web page for answers to frequently asked questions about this important change and listings of eligible expenses.
Remember, per IRS rules, money in flexible spending accounts that is not used during the plan year must be forfeited.

Labor Day is a holiday for the Institute.  Enjoy it!  And when you come back, don’t forget (if you are a staff member) to record a CTO day on your time sheet.

From the Employee Handbook, page 22:

“… the following holidays are considered “floating” holidays:
• Memorial Day
• July 4th (Independence Day)
• Labor Day
Normally, the Institute will be closed on these holidays, and all CTO eligible employees will be expected
to record CTO time taken on their time sheets. CTO accruals have been expanded from the former
schedule of vacation accruals to account for this change. If a particular department needs to remain open
on a floating holiday in order to support an Institute function, employees of that department will be so
informed by their manager, and will be able to use their CTO hours on another day.”

The survey of staff needs conducted last year by the staff advisory team pointed to the desire on the part of staff members for more training around issues of customer service.  The two remaining workshops HR’s staff development series address this very topic!  Please sign up for

“Customer Service” on March 18th

and/or

“Conflict Management and Dealing with Difficult Situations/People” on March 24th.

Both workshops meet from 1-5 pm in the Boardroom.

Just send a message to hr@miis.edu to reserve your space.

(While these workshops target staff, interested faculty are also welcome if space permits.)

The Monterey Institute has been fortunate enough to weather the current national economic crisis without the staffing cutbacks that have been experienced by other institutions of higher education. One key to our ability to survive, and even thrive, in a challenging economic environment is careful planning, especially when it comes to staffing, which accounts for 75% of the Institute’s budget.  To ensure that an institution-wide perspective informs all our staffing decisions, President Ramaswamy has appointed a Staff Resources Committee (SRC), composed of the senior administrators responsible for academic programs, finance, planning, and advancement:  Amy Sands, Bob Huth, Amy McGill, and Beth McDermott.  Effective immediately, any request to hire a new staff member, or replace a departing staff member, will be reviewed by this committee, which will examine each proposal with overall interests and priorities of the Institute in mind. The hiring process will not begin until this review has taken place.

There are a few exemptions from the SRC review requirement:

• Faculty;
• Staff paid from external funds explicitly designated for such use, e.g., through grants and contracts;
• Temporary staff, hired within the parameters of the hiring department’s budget for periods not to exceed six months (generally for short-term programs, special projects, etc.)  Such temporary appointments may not be extended without going through the SRC process.

For a copy of the MIIS Hiring Guidelines, including this new policy, please see the HR Employee Resources page on the website.