Get a head start on your professional development by attending one of the three preconference workshops!

Understanding Higher Education (Half-day)

Monday, October 19, 8:30 a.m.-Noon
Members: $125 | Nonmembers: $150

The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

Higher education is a unique environment and human resources in higher education can be uniquely challenging. Past presidents of CUPA-HR have developed and will present this half-day workshop specifically for HR professionals who have experience in HR management but are new to higher education. Here you will find:

• The orientation and understanding you need to thrive in this environment filled with protocols, traditions and unique vernacular;
• Resources you need to be proactive and successful;
• Insights into the priorities and purpose of key higher education associations;
• The future of higher education and the implications for its human capital: CUPA-HR’s Think Tank Report; and
• War stories and real life examples of successful results.

This is your opportunity to learn from the leaders who have shaped higher education HR across the country. This workshop consistently sells out, so be sure to register early and take advantage of this one-of-a-kind workshop!

Patti Couger, CUPA-HR Knowledge Center Content Manager and former Associate Vice Chancellor, Texas A&M University System; Stewart Mixon, CUPA-HR Past President and Chief Operations Officer, Medical University of South Carolina

Training, Equipping, Monitoring & Supporting: HR’s Role With Search Committees (Half-day)

Monday, October 19, 8:30 a.m.-Noon
Members: $125 | Nonmembers: $150

The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

“Getting the right people on the bus” is arguably the most important thing that any organization ever does, yet the search committee process is sometimes executed haphazardly on many college campuses. Human resources is responsible for ensuring that the institution hires the best, brightest and most diverse talent possible; however, this is mission impossible if search committees do not recruit, screen and select candidates in the proper manner. Learn quality assurance techniques for guiding and directing the activities of faculty and administrative searches. Train and orient members and committee chairs; equip them with templates, checklists and the right tools; support them by providing expert advice and assistance; and monitor them to ensure their activities are within legal bonds. In short, learn the best practice approach to conducting searches in the 21st century.

Christopher D. Lee, President, SearchCommittees.com; Gloriana Waters, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources, CUNY

Collective Bargaining (Full-day)

Monday, October 19, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Members: $175 | Nonmembers: $200

The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

Prepare for collective bargaining now! Collective bargaining is on the Congressional agenda — the Employee Free Choice Act — and may soon become a reality for many organizations.

Attend this workshop and learn the essentials of collective bargaining and what your institution needs to do to prepare for bargaining, including establishing relationships and communications with employees now; what to expect as unions solicit your employees; what can be bargained; components of negotiation preparation; and bargaining at the table.

Attendees will:

• Learn the background, history and impact of unionization, collective bargaining and right-to-work in the United States, with a focused emphasis upon unionization of faculty, adjuncts, graduate assistants, non-exempt staff and NLRB decisions.
• Develop an understanding of the recognition process — what management needs to know (both before a union is on campus and after you have been notified that an organization drive has begun); strategies to implement before discussions of unionization have started; bargaining unit determination and community-of-interest doctrine; rules of conduct and appropriate communication efforts with employees.
• Develop an understanding of the bargaining process and its challenges, rules of conduct/communications at the table and communications with employees.
• Develop initial bargaining positions with a focus on obtainable goals and objectives as well as supporting data and documentation, and review what a first contract might look like and what to expect at the table and on campus.
• Develop strategies for changed management-employee relations.

Case studies and role-playing will be used to prepare participants for the challenges confronting today’s organizations. Attendees will also have opportunities to receive analysis and bargaining ideas/strategies from instructors as well as through discussions with other attendees.

Keith Groty, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Emeritus, Michigan State University; William Neff, Vice Chancellor Emeritus, University of California