Category: Human Resources

The Health Care Commission (HCC) recently voted to move the State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) voluntary Vision benefits to a new carrier, Avēsis. Avēsis will begin providing benefits to members Jan. 1, 2022.

Avēsis is diligently working to recruit and contract with optometric providers (e.g. eye doctors, glasses and contact lenses companies) across Kansas in order to best serve members. Their  campaign to recruit and contract with providers began several weeks ago. It is likely that many providers used by SEHP members have already been contacted.

To assist in their efforts and allow members an opportunity to provide feedback on their preferred providers, Avēsis has developed a nomination form for members to complete and submit electronically. This form asks for their preferred provider information and will go directly to the recruitment team at Avēsis, who will then reach out to those providers.

For most SEHP members, the vision exam benefit is covered under the medical portion of their benefits at 100%, and that process will not change. The providers who have been participating in the Aetna and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas networks will continue to be in those networks, meaning your annual eye exam will still be covered in full through your medical plan.

For members without medical coverage, and for lenses, frames, and materials, the Avēsis plan will be providing vision benefits for 2022.

The cornerstone of the workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan is the implementation of a compensation program that is transparent, market-based and administered in a consistent manner.

As part of this implementation, Human Resources has completed an external market review of all jobs at the university and has created an individualized market-based compensation (MBC) Statement for each employee, which will be available through Sept. 30.

To access a statement:

•  Log in to myWSU (Chrome is the preferred browser).
•  Select the Faculty/Staff tab.
• Scroll down the page to the “Human Resources Links” Channel box.
• Select Market Based Compensation Statement.

Employees enrolled in 2021 coverage through the State Employee Health Plan can earn a premium discount worth $480 annually and HSA/HRA rewards dollars up to $500 per year for each employee and covered spouse, just by participating and logging healthy activities throughout the year.

Two events are scheduled for September worth up to 24 points.

• 10:30-11:30 a.m. Sept. 1, “Addressing Employee Performance Issues In A Supportive Way”, EAP webinar. Register online. (one point)
• Sept. 7: On-campus Biometric Screening in Rhatigan Student Center (room 266). Schedule your appointment today in the HealthQuest portal, or by calling 1-888-275-1205, option 3. Limited appointments are available. (Up to 23 points)

Now is a good time to take advantage of some of the on-demand and online options to earn HealthQuest points.

• Virtual health coaching sessions: You can earn up to 15 points (max one health coaching per day, one point each) by scheduling health coaching sessions. You can choose a health coach who is a nurse, a dietitian or a trainer when scheduling sessions.
• Learning modules: You can earn up to five points by completing on-demand learning modules in the HealthQuest portal. There are 18 different topics to choose from.
• EAP on-demand trainings: You can earn up to eight points (max one point per day) by completing on-demand training and webinars that you can access through the HealthQuest portal. There are 32 different topics to choose from.
• HealthQuest financial wellness learning module: You can earn five points by completing this four-week learning module.
• Health assessment questionnaire: You can earn 10 points for completing this assessment.
• HealthQuest Program overview video and quiz: You can earn three points for watching this video and completing the short quiz.

Registration is now available for CourseLeaf Curriculum (CIM) training courses via Zoom.

The following dates are available:

•  1-2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9
•  1-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14
•  1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15
•  1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6

This one and half hour Zoom session will provide a demonstration of how to submit a curriculum change proposal via the online CIM course and program forms, how to search for existing proposals, how the proposal moves through the electronic workflow and how to approve proposals. The last 30 minutes will be dedicated to questions. The training applies to any faculty, staff and administrators who would submit, review and approve course or program proposals.

After registering, a link to the session will be emailed to you in advance. Please reach out to the instructor if you do not receive the Zoom link within 24 hours of the registered session.

To log into CIM during the training session, you will need your dual authentication (DUO) device.

Members can register with the myTraining link located on the Faculty/Staff tab of myWSU, or by emailing michelle.haetten@wichita.edu.

Christine Taylor, executive director for Wichita State University’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, will serve as the interim Title IX coordinator beginning Aug. 9. Christine will succeed Sara Zafar, who is returning to private practice.

Institutions receiving federal funding are required to designate a coordinator who is responsible for ensuring Title IX compliance. This includes overseeing all sex discrimination complaints and coordinating the university’s response to reports of sex discrimination complaints.

Before joining Wichita State University, Taylor served as the Marquette University Title IX coordinator from 2015 to 2018.  She has also served as the Interim Title IX coordinator for WSU before Sara Zafar’s appointment. Taylor’s experience as a Title IX coordinator will continue the University’s commitment to providing support, response and resolution of reports of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

Resources and reporting options are available on the OIEC website. For more information, or report directly, email Christine.taylor@wichita.edu or call 316-978-3205.

Employees enrolled in 2021 coverage through the State Employee Health Plan can earn a premium discount worth $480 annually and HSA/HRA rewards dollars up to $500 per year for each employee and covered spouse, just by participating and logging healthy activities throughout the year.

Four events are scheduled for August worth up to 20 points.

• 10:30-11:30 a.m. Aug: 4, “Running on E: Adding Energy and Passion to Your Work and Life”, EAP webinar. Register online. (one point)
•  Aug. 17: On-campus Biometric Screening at the Rhatigan Student Center (266 Pike Room). Schedule your appointment at the HealthQuest portal, or call 1-888-275-1205, option 3. Limited appointments available. (Up to 23 points)
• July 26- Aug. 20: Inaugural HealthQuest Fun Run: Virtual 10k/5k/1 mile available at the HealthQuest portal. (Up to five points)
• Aug. 16: Wondr Health (formerly Naturally Slim) Session 4. (10 points)

Now is a good time to take advantage of some of the on-demand and online options to earn HealthQuest points.

• Virtual health coaching sessions: You can earn up to 15 points (max one health coaching per day, one point each) by scheduling health coaching sessions. You can choose a health coach who is a nurse, a dietitian or a trainer when scheduling sessions.
• Learning modules: You can earn up to five points by completing on-demand learning modules in the HealthQuest portal. There are 18 different topics to choose from.
• EAP on-demand trainings: You can earn up to eight points (max one point per day) by completing on-demand training and webinars that you can access through the HealthQuest portal. There are 32 different topics to choose from.
• HealthQuest financial wellness learning module: You can earn five points by completing this four-week learning module.
• Health assessment questionnaire: You can earn 10 points for completing this assessment.
• HealthQuest Program overview video and quiz: You can earn three points for watching this video and completing the short quiz.

2022 fiscal and academic year annual appointment notices are available online and will not be printed and distributed to departments.

Please note that University Support Staff (USS) and Non-Benefit eligible employees (Students, Lecturers and Temporary employees) are not subject to the annual appointment notice process.

Therefore, unclassified professionals (UP) and faculty can view, electronically acknowledge, and print their 2022 Appointment Notice through MyWSU:

• MyWSU (Chrome is the preferred browser)
• Faculty/staff tab
• Human resources links
• Notice of appointment (you may need to clear the browser cache to see the link)

2022 appointment notices will be available to view, electronically acknowledge, print and revisit through Aug. 31.  Because of the sensitive nature of this data, always close the browser to protect privacy.

Please contact the Help Desk at 978-4357 for assistance with logging into MyWSU.

For questions with any of the information contained on your fiscal year 2022 appointment notice, please discuss with your supervisor and they may contact HR.ServiceCenter@wichita.edu if needed.

The State Employee Health Plan (SEHP) will host the annual Health Insurance Open Enrollment period for benefits-eligible employees from Oct. 1-31. All Open Enrollment materials, including the Open Enrollment Guide, videos, and informational flyers will be available online as we approach Oct. 1 with more communications to come.

Should you wish to receive a printed copy of the Open Enrollment Guide, you must submit your request by Aug. 6.

Click here to request a printed copy of the 2022 Open Enrollment Guide.

The cornerstone of the workforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan is the implementation of a compensation program that is transparent, market-based and administered in a consistent manner.  As part of the implementation, Human Resources has completed an external market review of all jobs at the university and has created an individualized Market-Based Compensation (MBC) Statement for each employee, which will be published on July 28 and available through Sept. 30. To access a statement:

• Log in to myWSU (Chrome is the preferred browser)
• Select the Faculty/Staff tab
• Scroll down the page to the “Human Resources Links” Channel box
• Select “Market Based Compensation Statement”

Due to differences in how the market data is presented, two versions of the statements have been created, one for teaching positions and one for non-teaching positions. Short Market-Based Compensation Video Tutorials have been developed to assist with interpreting the information on the MBC Statement.

NOTE:  Employees in the following status or division of the University will not receive a compensation statement: temporary position, lecturer or visiting professor, student employee, coaches and employees in the Division of Industry Defense Programs.

Important things to know about the statement:

• For non-teaching positions, the Job Code and Job Title come from the Job Description the employee’s position has been mapped to in the Job Catalog (Job Description Manager).
• For non-teaching positions, if a Working Title was requested prior to the May 14 deadline and approved, it will be noted on the statement. Otherwise, the Working Title field will contain the Job Title from the Job Description.  Requests received after May 14 will be reviewed in August, and if approved, updated at that time.
• There are a few non-teaching positions in which the Non-Exempt/Exempt classification review was not complete at the time the statements were produced.  If the employee’s statement indicates “Under Review” in the Non-exempt/Exempt classification section, it simply means the review is still in process. You may have/may be contacted by the assigned HRBP for more information. When the review is complete, the supervisor and the employee will be notified if there is a change and the next steps that will occur.
• The base pay on the statement is the employee’s current base pay. There are no changes to employee base pay as a result of the external market review and the assigned pay range.
• All non-teaching jobs have been assigned a pay range based on independent, external market data and these statements will show the assigned pay range for each job. Teaching positions will show the market percentiles for the 25, 50 and 75. The statements are one element exhibiting the commitment by the university to develop a compensation program that is market-based, transparent and administered in a consistent manner.
• No employee will have their base pay reduced as a result of this transition, and those below the minimum of the assigned pay range will be given priority to bring them to the minimum, or close the gap to the minimum, of the assigned range when funds are available for the purpose of base pay increases.
• No employee in a position with a base pay above the assigned pay range will have their base pay reduced to bring it within the assigned pay range.
• No funding is allocated for base pay increases for fiscal year 2022.
• It is important for employees to remember that the statement only shows the base pay component of their total compensation from the university.  An employee may view an individualized Total Compensation Statement by accessing myWSU and selecting “Total Compensation Statement” to see other valuable indirect compensation provided by the University.

In the coming months, Human Resources will conduct a full base pay analysis to include:

• Partnering with university leaders to gather input on each current employee’s experience and skills. This, paired with the external market information will be used to prioritize future pay increases when funding is available for that purpose.
• Developing a multi-year strategy to prioritize future base pay increases to address any gaps identified in the analysis, as funding becomes available for this purpose.
• Establishing the annual pay cycle which starts at the beginning of each calendar year and includes updating market data, conducting base pay analysis in advance of the budget cycle and making base pay increases effective at the start of each fiscal year if funding is allocated for that purpose.

Utilizing the Compensation Administration Guidelines by leaders throughout the year will aid in creating consistency in the administration of base pay decisions. These Guidelines are published at www.wichita.edu/marketbasedcompensation.

If you have any additional questions after reviewing the statements and tutorial video, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your supervisor or the HR Business Partner assigned to your area. You can also find helpful material related to the Market Based-Compensation Program located on the Human Resources website. You can also look up nd Compensation Administration Guidelines on the Market-Based Compensation Program website. Thank you for your assistance in supporting this university strategic initiative and a cornerstone of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion workforce plan.

Sara Zafar, Wichita State University Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance Human Title IX coordinator, will offer an additional online Advanced Title IX training from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 3. The training is part of the August Academic Resources Conference (ARC). The session will last approximately two hours, including an hour for questions.