SAC Overview

Staff at Carleton (SAC) is a collective voice in the Carleton Community. The purpose of SAC is to:

• Provide professional growth opportunities
• Promote recognition of staff as part of the educational team
• Strive to collect and disseminate suggestions, concerns, and questions related to the personnel policies of the College
• Improve communication between the membership, the union staff, the faculty, and the administration and to serve as a liaison for campus-based groups and committees
• Investigate and respond to issues presented to SAC
• Stay informed of issues and trends locally and nationally as they relate to membership
• Develop a plan of activities and establish project subcommittees from among the membership to further plan and implement the activities of SAC
• Work with the College administration to bring about necessary changes and improve working conditions

The SAC Board of Representatives consists of two co-chairs, secretary, College Council representative, geographical representatives and alternates, one faculty appointee, and one administrative staff appointee. Four geographic areas represent SAC members.

The SAC Executive Committee consists of two co-chairs, secretary, College Council representative, and two representatives elected by the Board of Representatives. The committee shall have and exercise the authority of the Board of Representatives in the management of SAC during periods between meetings of the Board of Representatives.

Each geographic area has an elected representative(s) and alternate representative(s) who are resources to contact regarding issues and events and as a ‘voice’ for the membership within the College.

Elections are held annually.

All members are:

• Eligible to serve on subcommittees and may hold office in accordance with Article VIII of the SAC bylaws;
• Eligible to vote to elect representatives and officers, to amend bylaws and to vote on issues directed by the Board of Representatives to the membership at large; and
• Non-exempt staff.

Preferred Skills & Experience of Committee Members

• Membership shall include all permanent, full and part-time, non-union, non-exempt staff of Carleton College.
• Candidates for the office of Co-chair, Secretary and Representative to the College Council must have served previously as an elected Representative and must have a minimum of one (1) year’s experience on the Board.
• Candidates for Representative shall have been employed by Carleton for at least six (6) months immediately prior to the date of election.

Meeting Frequency

The SAC Board of Representatives meets regularly. All SAC members are invited to attend or to submit issues of concern to a member of the board. Meeting minutes are distributed to the entire membership via email.

There is one SAC luncheon held each winter term to which the entire membership is invited. The luncheon is hosted by geographic areas on a rotating basis. Introduction of new staff, business meetings, election review, topics of interest, and entertainment are a few of the items selected from as luncheon presentations. The annual half-day joint SAC/Forum Staff Retreat has replaced the former SAC fall luncheon.

The SAC Staff Development Committee develops training and information sessions on topics of interest in an effort to keep biweekly staff informed about issues that affect their work, to provide an overview of certain College programs, or to present current topics of interest. The sessions may be held during Board meetings, as a separate session, or over the lunch hour break. This is an opportunity to share/present information and provide an opportunity for SAC member networking. Notification of scheduled sessions are published in Carleton Today and by email.

Communication has been identified by our membership as an important ongoing issue. SAC Co-Chairs meet twice yearly with the President. All members are also invited to participate in the open office hours that the Vice President & Treasurer offers.

Originally known as “The Group” or the Administrative/Clerical Group, the name was changed to Support Staff Group (SSG) in 1975, then to Staff Affairs Committee (SAC) in 1979. The current name Staff At Carleton (SAC) was adopted in 1989.

Issues/programs/changes in which SAC was instrumental:

• Grievance procedure
• Sick leave policy
• Flextime
• Floating Holidays
• Job descriptions
• Mediation process
• Catastrophic Leave Sharing Program
• Staff development
• Currently@Carleton
• Longevity bonus
• SAC luncheons
• Flu shots
• Employee staff webpage
• Publication of annual “Zoo Book” (pictures of Carleton employees)
• SAC member on College Council, College Budget Committee, College Benefits Committee, Job Classification Process
• Discussions with both the Director of Human Resources and the Vice-President of the College regarding salary and benefits