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UW audit finds need for reform
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by Tom Schalmo
Monday, October 16, 2006
The University of Wisconsin System has come under pressure to reform personnel policies following an independent audit released Friday.
Among the audit's findings, UW employees have failed to call in sick and have converted sick days into hundreds of thousands of dollars of health insurance following retirement.
UW teaching faculty reported, on average, less than one sick day in 2005, translating to more than $222,000 in additional post-retirement insurance funding. Overall, the system converted $535,000 of sick leave at retirement last year.
The audit recommends the UW System Board of Regents consider modifications to sick leave and vacation time policies and report to the state Joint Legislative Audit Committee next year.
Doug Bradley, communications director for the UW System, said the recommendations made are things the UW System can easily take a look at during its November meeting.
"Sure, it's a long report; sure, there are things that need to be corrected, but when you look at the recommendations, they're pretty mild," Bradley said. "Some of the stuff we're already moving on with."
Of all employees of the UW System, 45 percent claimed no sick days in 2005, while 197 staff members did not report any vacation time between 2003 and 2005.
Bradley said the lack of sick-day claims is due in part to faculty who have other professors substitute for them and are therefore not forced to cancel class. Faculty then spend time researching on the weekends to make up for the missed hours.
"You want your faculty and staff to not think they're being picked on," Bradley said. "But at the same time, reassure the taxpayers that the investment dollars going to education are being used wisely."
But the results of the audit sparked criticism from Republican lawmakers Friday.
"This has sent shockwaves through the Capitol," said state Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford. "The UW is tone-deaf when it comes to reform, and this audit proves it."
Suder added that the responsibility for the mismanagement of the UW System rests with Gov. Jim Doyle.
"The buck has to stop at the governor's office because it's his Board of Regents," Suder said. "The governor has had four years to reform, and unfortunately, there's more reform needed now than there was four years ago."
Doyle spokesperson Matt Canter said Suder's comments come during "silly political season," and added while progress has been made, Doyle acknowledges there is more work to be done.
"Gov. Doyle has required the university to apply new efficiencies and new strategies for management," Canter said. "They have worked, and we're pleased with that. Obviously, the audit shows that there's work to be done."
Gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., also responded to Friday's audit, issuing a release condemning Doyle for taking UW "in the wrong direction."
The report was also critical of the university's efforts to eliminate back-up positions, which guarantee a faculty member a position after leaving a limited appointment. UW System President Kevin Reilly said in a release that the university is no longer offering new back-up positions, but the audit said hundreds still remain.
In addition, the audit showed some UW consultants are paid more than faculty with similar responsibilities.
The report also said some employees on sabbatical leave — which allows them to leave the university for up to a year for research purposes — are compensated while on leave, violating system policies. The UW System was asked in the audit to review these sabbatical policies.
Anonymous (October 20, 2006 @ 2:09pm):
The UW Regents are jackasses. They wasted their last meeting trying to tell the state how to vote on marriage, and meanwhile the UW system continues to be plagued by corruption and mismanagement. We need a shake up at UW.
