Question: Can an application that arrives in Human Resources after the closing date still be accepted ? Is the postmark a consideration when determining the timeliness of an application ? Are faxed or e-mailed applications accepted ?

Answer: Applications received in Human Resources after the closing date cannot be considered. Applicants should be aware of the closing date and give sufficient time for mailing an application into the office. The date postmarked on the application is not a factor when determining the timeliness of an application. Completed and faxed applications with a signature can be considered as long as they are received in Human Resources by 5:00 on the date of the job closing. Most positions are posted for at least 10 working days. The job posting or advertisement will clearly state the closing date, unless the position is considered “open until filled.” In which case there will not be a closing date and the position will remain open until an acceptable candidate is found.

More information about the employment process can be found in UPPS 04.04.03, “Staff Employment.” The link to the policy is: http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-04-04-03.html. In addition, questions can be directed to Human Resources at 245-2557.

Question:Are there any discounts or fee reductions for Faculty members (including adjunct faculty) who would like to enroll in doctoral courses?

Answer: Faculty members may attend academic classes at Texas State or elsewhere provided that such enrollment does not interfere with the completion of assigned duties. If a fee payment is requested for Texas State courses, requests are initiated by the faculty member at the departmental level on the Enrollment in Academic Courses/Fee Payment form (UPPS No. 04.04.01-PE-0997-1). The department head forwards the form to the Human Resources Office for eligibility verification. Staff and Faculty employees must be here 3 years (36 full months) to be eligible for fee waivers. If eligible, the Human Resources Office forwards the form to the Accounting Office. If the approved form is received in the Accounting Office at least five (5) work days prior to the first day of registration, fees will be paid at registration.

If enrollment is related to current or prospective assignments, absence from campus is not considered a leave of absence, but rather a part of the faculty member's regular University activities. Faculty members may also enroll in courses here or elsewhere for personal development provided that attendance does not interfere with the completion of assigned duties. In either case, the faculty member should notify department chair in writing before enrolling in classes so that the chair can determine that no conflict exists.
Fees that are eligible to be paid by the University include only:

The payment does not apply to any other fees or tuition.

If an employee who has had fees paid terminates employment with the University prior to the end of the semester for which the fees were paid, the employee must reimburse the University for any and all fees paid by the University.

Enrollment in academic courses and fee waiver policy can be found in UPPS 04.04.01 at http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-04-04-01.html.

Question: I have recently been reclassified and am now eligible to switch from TRS to ORP, but have some questions before doing so. The biggest question is, what happens to the money I currently have in TRS? I have been contributing to retirement for a little over 5 years I believe. I’m wondering if the money will automatically be rolled over into ORP or if I have the option to take the money out of TRS to pay off some outstanding debt, putting the rest into a Roth IRA.

Answer: When you make this decision there are several aspects to consider.

1. The decision to enroll in ORP is a one-time irrevocable choice between ORP and TRS.

2. ORP is only available at public institutions of higher education so if you were to change employers and went to a state agency or private sector employer instead of a public institution of higher education, you would not be able to continue in the ORP. The same would be true if you went to a job in an independent school district. They do not provide ORP either, but they do provide TRS.

3. If you were to go to a public institution of higher education in another state, that state’s rules will determine whether or not you can roll a Texas ORP into their plan or not.

4. TRS members who elect ORP after becoming ORP-eligible may either withdraw their TRS employee contributions or leave them on deposit with TRS. But most people don’t want to leave them on deposit because you can only take distributions from one plan at retirement. The only reason anyone would leave their contributions there would be if they left Texas State and went to an Independent School District later where they can only participate in TRS.

5. No TRS money is automatically rolled into ORP, nor is that an option.

6. If an employee withdraws the employee contribution from TRS, the employer contribution remains with TRS, therefore you are losing the match dollars (6% of annual salary).

7. Amounts contributed after 1987 will be subject to income taxes and possible early withdrawal penalties unless “rolled over” to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). So in this particular situation, the money you would want to use to pay off debts could be taxed and zapped with the early withdrawal penalty, depending on when it was contributed.

8. Amounts contributed to TRS prior to 1988 were already taxed, therefore it is our opinion that those dollars may be rolled into a Roth IRA. Any contributions made after that date we believe can not be rolled into a Roth IRA but can be rolled into a regular IRA.

So you can see there are many variables when making this decision. We recommend you consult with a tax attorney when making decisions that may cause a taxable event.

Question: Where can I find out how many dependents I claimed on my W-4 form? Where do I go to change it if I decide to do so?

Answer: You can find out how many dependents you claimed by contacting the Human Resources Office at 5-2557 or visiting us at JCK 360. Human Resources has the entire history of what you may have claimed in previous years as well. If you just need to know what you are currently claiming, you can find that on your paper copy of your earnings statement in the upper right hand corner where it says “Tax Status.” For example it will say “Married – 02” or “Single - 00.” You can also contact the Payroll Office at 5-2543.

If you want to change what you are claiming you can visit the Human Resources Office at JCK 360 to complete a new W-4 form.

Question: I was recently forced to move from HealthSelect Plus to HealthSelect. Between the university and my family, we pay almost $900/month to insure 3 people, yet this new insurance plan pays so little toward bills, we can barely afford to use the insurance. In discussing this around the office, those who have been on HeathSelect noticed this change as well. Why is this and do we have other options?

Answer: The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) chose to eliminate the HealthSelect Plus program as well as some other HMO’s due to the high costs of these types of plans. The HeathSelect Plus plan was a very rich plan that paid just about everything. What that translates to, is this: What you did not pay for the care you received under Health Select Plus ERS did pay. The premiums collected were not covering the cost of the claims at the level that ERS expected.

The 78th legislative session made many changes to the health care system for state employees, including 90 day waiting periods for new hires and reduced premium coverage for part-time employees. In addition, the governor mandated some heavy budget reductions from all state agencies and institutions of higher education. Due to these mandates, ERS had no choice but to make changes twice during FY 03. They imposed some changes on May 1, 2003, and others on September 1, 2003. They included such things as higher copays, additional copays, higher cost drug program and higher out of pocket limits. All of the changes were made in order to keep their costs down and to keep our premiums from going up significantly.

None of us liked any of the changes that happened. These same changes are happening all over the country with other states programs as well as private sector companies.

At this point in time the only other option we have is an HMO through Scott and White. Unfortunately, this plan has providers only in Bastrop, Travis and Williamson counties, and they are limited. Because there are no providers in Hays County, there is minimal participation in this plan.

We would not be surprised if ERS is now looking at Health Savings Account (HSA) plans which were recently approved by President Bush. These types of plans are discussed at length in the March 2004 issue of the HR Bulletin under the “Ask the Director” section. You can locate that article at http://www.humanresources.txstate.edu/bulletin/march2004/index.html. In general HSA plans are available to people who participate in high deductible plans. The plans allow employees and/or employers to put money aside tax free for payment of care in a similar fashion to the TexFlex plan we have available to us now. The big difference is that HSA plans are portable, meaning you can move them to other employers if you were to leave your current employer. And therefore, you don’t lose money if you don’t use it at the end of the year like you do with TexFlex .

We would also not be surprised if ERS is looking at different HMO options again to give employees more choices. They have received numerous complaints on the lack of choices, therefore we suspect they will try to address that issue.

As soon as we know more information we will be providing it to the campus.

Question: Is there a way to find out what CHANGES have been made to a UPPS? I seem to recall in years past that one could see a marked up copy (caps or bold for new text and strikeout for deleted text). Maybe I'm just remembering what it looks like during the review process.

It would be very helpful to see just the changes instead of having to review the entire UPPS.

Answer: If there are minor changes to an UPPS, you will see them marked with asterisks. However, the only way you can see the “marked up” copy is if you are engaged in the review process. Your divisional VP determines the reviewers for UPPS in his/her division. You can go to the following link at any time to see the latest UPPS updates as they are posted to the web. http://www.txstate.edu/effective/upps/upps-updates.html