DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY


FACULTY WELFARE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION FOR AN ANNUAL SURVEY ON HEALTH CARE BENEFITS AND SERVICES

Sue Greninger (human ecology), on behalf of the Faculty Welfare Committee, has filed the recommendations set forth below for conducting an annual survey to provide data regarding satisfaction levels and trends with health care benefits and services, including claims processing.

The secretary has classified these recommendations as general legislation. Notice is hereby given that these recommendations will be presented to the Faculty Council for action at its meeting on May 8, 2000.



<signed>

John R. Durbin, Secretary
The Faculty Council




This legislation was posted on the Faculty Council web site (http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/) on April 28, 2000. Paper copies are available on request from the Office of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500. This document was revised after the date of circulation as indicated in the footnotes.

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Recommendation:

That an annual survey of faculty and staff at The University of Texas at Austin be conducted (1) to provide data regarding satisfaction levels and trends with health care benefits and services, including claims processing, and (2) to identify problems being experienced by UT Austin employees in these areas. The survey should be designed and administered by an independent group of professionals within the University who are skilled in survey research, such as the Office of Survey Research or other appropriate unit, with input and oversight from a faculty-staff advisory group. The timing of the survey should be such that data from the current year can influence contract negotiations for the following year. The findings of the survey should be reported on an annual basis to the Faculty Council, posted on the University's web site, and sent to The University of Texas System's Director of Employee Group Insurance.

To assure that the survey is conducted in an ongoing and consistent manner that provides useful data, the president should allocate sufficient annual funding for the survey to the unit(s) within the University deemed best suited to conduct the survey, analyze the data, and disseminate the findings for the benefit of the entire University community.^*

Rationale:

Over the past few years, the Faculty Welfare Committee has received specific complaints and reports of dissatisfaction with health care benefits and claims processing from the faculty. The Committee realizes that anecdotal data have serious shortcomings when determining the extent to which these problems exist. Therefore, the Committee would like to see an annual data collection and dissemination system implemented by the University to determine whether satisfaction levels are improving or deteriorating over time. The findings from such an on-going survey would assist administrators, both at the University and System levels, to identify specific problem areas and to develop solutions to improve the delivery of services and information to faculty and staff. The findings could also benefit employees in their selection, understanding, and utilization of health care benefits.

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^* Document corrected on May 9, 2000, at the request of the Faculty Welfare Committee.