SURVEYING STAFF: The Staff Workload Issues Task Force at the University of California at Davis is doing an organizational climate assessment survey. Almost 1,200 randomly selected UC Davis employees have been invited to focus groups to assess their current work environment. Each two-hour session begins with a brief electronic survey about workload impacts, work patterns and priorities, communications, employee development and staff morale. The task force plans to use the information gathered in these sessions to develop recommendations for improving the campus organizational climate.

CAROLINA COMPUTERS: Students at the University of North Carolina will be required to have laptop computers beginning with entering freshmen in 2000. The requirement won approval of the Faculty Council provided that the university help low income students purchase the computers. The initiative is part of an ongoing effort to enhance the curriculum through the use of computer technology. Students will either bring their own laptops or choose from three purchase options through the university. And faculty and staff are getting the same price breaks on computers as the students.

TRACKING STUDENTS: What are the best predictors of academic success? The University of California at Davis is trying to answer that question by undertaking the first comprehensive study of the undergraduate student selection process. All undergraduates in the class of 2002 will be tracked throughout their university career, based on the reasons they were selected. The study will look at their grades and the courses they complete, whether they return their sophomore year and whether they graduate.

FACULTY RETIREMENTS: More than 40 percent of eligible tenured faculty members at the University of Pittsburgh have signed up for its early retirement incentive plan. Tenured faculty were eligible for the plan if they had completed at least 12 years of service and would be at least 60 prior to July 1, or if the sum of their years of age and years of service would total at least 85 by that date. Participants have agreed to re-linquish their tenure rights and retire between July 1, 1998 and May 1, 1999. In return they will receive payment equal to 1.5 times their annual contract salary, but not exceeding $125,000.

SALARY HIKE: The Virginia General Assembly has approved salary increases at the University of Virginia. Instructional faculty will receive 6.5 percent increases in each of the next two years, while general faculty, part-time faculty and graduate teaching assistants will get 3.1 percent in the first year and 3.3 percent in the second. Classified employees will earn raises of up to 4.55 percent based on their performance ratings.

WISCONSIN RETIREES: The University of Wisconsin is establishing a retirement association for the first time. The association will sponsor workshops, start a newsletter, create a retirees’ computer support group and establish a master mailing list of all Wisconsin retirees. A UW employee who retired in June will be the acting executive director. ¶