Comments are sought as the university proposes a one-year extension to the Staff and Academic Reduction in Time program, also known as START.

The proposal, which would extend the program until June 30, 2006, is contingent upon approval by the UC regents.

The START program, implemented in June of 2003, and due to end on June 30, 2005, is a temporary program intended as an optional tool for department heads to achieve short-term salary savings through employees' voluntary time reductions during the university's budget crisis. Employees who originally signed up for the program volunteered to reduce their work schedules and salaries by 10 to 50 percent.

Campuses have indicated strong support for the program as it has helped to meet budget reduction goals for departments, minimized the need for layoffs, and addressed the work-life needs of many employees, said Beverly Wilcox, human resources policy coordinator at UC Davis.

As a result, the university is proposing to extend the program for one year for current participants, which will serve to phase out the program while providing continued temporary salary savings where needed.

Contingent upon the regents' approval is a proposal to allow locations that are currently not participating in the START program to participate, if they can demonstrate to the president a need to achieve salary savings because of new budget reductions.

Employees who are participating in the program as of June 30, 2005, could extend their START contracts until no later than June 30, 2006, under the program's current basic provisions:

• Eligible employees are academic personnel, except those in faculty and student academic titles, and regular status (non-probationary career) staff.
• Participants voluntarily reduce their working time from a minimum of 10 percent to a maximum of 50 percent of full-time, and for a minimum of one month to a maximum of 12 months.
• On a month-by-month basis during their START contract, participants earn vacation and sick leave credits at the same rate as before START.
• On a month-by-month basis during their START contract, participating UCRP members earn UCRP service credit for each START month at the same rate as before START. (Participants must be on pay status for at least 50 percent of full-time during each month of participation.)
• Participants' UC health and welfare, retirement, disability, and survivor benefits are not affected during START.

The updated program description, Q&As, and other information on the START program are available at http://hr.ucdavis.edu/Policy/Start.

Comments are requested with respect to non-represented employees. The proposal has been sent under separate cover to the unions that represent university employees.

Staff and academic employees are invited to comment on the proposed changes by June 10. Staff employees may send comments to Wilcox at bmwilcox@ucdavis.edu; and academic employees may send comments to John Dixon, in the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Personnel, at jfdixon@ucdavis.edu.