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MCC Daily Tribune

President's Wednesday Message

In last week's President's Wednesday Message, I provided an overview of the College's Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan (VSIP). It is not a surprise that employees had questions about the plan. As your questions have come in, Human Resources has been working to answer them. Some are unique to individuals, but others have arisen frequently enough that HR has created a FAQ document. This week, I wanted to call your attention to this document, which will be updated as additional questions arise. Please remember that all information related to the VSIP is available on myMCC, under the "Employees Essentials" tab, including a schedule of information sessions; you will find any updates there.

Up front, I want to address several comments that I've heard through the grapevine:

  • This is a "separation" not a "retirement" plan for a simple reason: the College is opening it up to individuals who do not qualify for retirement under the Faculty Association contract. Employees who wish to apply for the VSIP but are not of contractual retirement age will have their medical benefits bridged by the College at the same rate as actives until they reach retirement age as defined in the FA contract.
  • The plan includes language related to the College's role in deciding the dates on which employees can separate. This language is meant to address the difference between teaching and non-teaching faculty. The plan asks that teaching faculty select to separate at the end of either the fall or spring semester rather than, say, in the middle of a semester.
  • The language of the plan has been described as everything from "cold" to "legalistic" to some things not appropriate to put in the "Wednesday message." All of us recognize that the decision to retire is as much an emotional one as a financial one, but the law is very specific about how a plan like this must be structured and written, from the timelines for decision-making to the requirement that applicants' information must be disclosed anonymously. The law is clear that the decision to apply must be left entirely to the employee. MCC can and will provide information to assist in that decision, but the College can in no way advise an employee as to what decision to make.

If you have questions that are not addressed in the FAQ document, please let Melissa Fingar (mfingar@monroecc.edu) or Suzanne Bureau (sbureau1@monroecc.edu) in MCC's Human Resources Office know. Or you can share your questions in the comments section on the blog and they will be forwarded on to Human Resources.

Anne Kress
Office of the President
09/18/2019