Shit... Piles and Piles of Shit...

Okay - I remember my second thing - my car got backed into yesterday in the Starbucks parking lot... no damage as far as I can tell, but I may make an appointment with ICBC just in case and get them to look at it...

Now onto the shit... this is what I have to put up with at work. This e-mail was sent to the ENTIRE university... the only consolation is that everyone that I have spoken to that has read it thinks that the writers are the losers... not us... in order to protect those that I work with (not thos who wrote it) I have done some slight editing... only to protect the innocent...

As part of [the University’s] recruitment and retention initiatives, a review of our strategies regarding the retention of post-secondary students was carried out. This review identified several areas for improvement in the way [the University] provides services to students one of which was student advising. After an extensive review of the literature, two-years of discussions with [the University’s] Advisors, and a review of the advising services provided by other post-secondary institutions in Canada, we implemented a process of change to [the University’s] advising services. Since each Advisor had a different PDQ, the process began with a review of their PDQs and the development of a single PDQ for all Advisors. We also developed a model of advising, based on the research, that will allow [the University] to provide an effective service to all students. This improved model will not only ensure that all students have direct access to advising regardless of the campus they attend, but it will also provide proactive services to students who are having academic difficulties.

After consulting with the advisors regarding the updated PDQ, they were informed that no layoffs were planned and that they would continue in their current positions under this new structure. However, the Union has requested, on a without prejudice basis, that the University consider the recent revisions to the Advisor PDQs as being sufficient to deem the positions as “new”. This, we understand, has come forward at the request of the Advisors. While the University does not believe that the restructured unit has resulted in these being “new positions”, we, as a gesture of goodwill and to ensure that the Advisors who stay truly wish to be a part of this team, agreed to this request.

As a result of this agreement, the affected current Advisors (five total) received displacement notice early this week. Article 17 of the CUPE Collective Agreement offers information regarding layoff. The affected staff have five days in which to confirm their interest in the Student Advisor positions. If any of the affected staff decide they do not wish to take on the role of Student Advisor, they will be able to bump into another position for which they are qualified or, alternatively, may elect to leave the institution. Any vacancies created will be immediately posted.

We look forward to establishing a highly coordinated Student Academic Advisement Center that will serve the needs of all our students. This approach has been demonstrated to be one of the most effective ways to improve retention of students. While some of the current Advisors may choose to not continue in the role, our goal is to have all positions filled as quickly as possible so that we can make a maximum impact for the fall term. If you have any questions or comments with regard to this matter please feel free to contact [the Dean, the Director or the HR Director] directly.

So - did they fail to mention that they offered to lay us off? Did they mention that they didn't do the PDQ process correctly? Did they mention that we have had issues since January?

I am hoping that out of this I don't look like a big loser employee that can't work as a team - who in their right mind would work for this rag-tag group of individuals who air my personal HR business to the entire University??? Who the hell would want to enter into that? Not me - as of Monday I am outta there... if I could quit and make them kiss my ass I would - but I need the money until I can find something in a more positive and productive work environment.