MIT Reports to the President 1997-98



VICE PRESIDENT FOR HUMAN RESOURCES AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFICER

This year has seen heightened activity in most of the groups reporting to me. The Medical Department is implementing a major upgrade to their information system, separate from the overall campus system in order to maintain privacy of patient records.

The Personnel Office, in Benefits and in Services and Employment have focused on ways to take advantage of the Internet. The goal is to eliminate paper transactions as much as is legally possible in benefits administration, resume handling, and other paper-intensive tasks.

The Human Resource Practices Design team (HRPD) delivered reports and recommendations for changes to the classification and compensation system, in training policies and administration, in the reward and recognition program, and in a more comprehensive orientation program. The HRPD team, led by Patricia Brady, has performed a valuable service for the Personnel group and for MIT employees. I want to express my thanks to the team, and to Patricia, for the fine work.

The Performance Consulting and Training group is working to understand and assist us all in achieving the goals of improved performance, and has worked closely with the HRPD Team to that end. The range of program offerings increases each year and feedback from participants is very positive.

We are engaged in a major classification of administrative positions on campus. While there has been constant, careful attention paid to the current system, community feedback indicates some lack of confidence in how jobs are classified. We are grateful to members of the community for their participation in the project.

I am delighted that we were able to bring Ms. Regina Caines on board as Assistant Equal Opportunity Officer. Most of Regina's career has been spent as a research chemist until, in more recent years, she changed her work emphasis into the areas of equal opportunity and diversity.

This has been a difficult year for many as we strive to improve our effectiveness. Thank you all for the support, hard work, humor and encouragement. It all adds up to making MIT the special place we want it to be. I must in closing make special comment to Robert Lewis and David Achenbach for their fine work in negotiating our various union contracts. I also wish to thank Marianne Howard and Philip Lima for their creative work in the redesign of the MIT Pension Plan which, while still in process, looks to be very responsive to community input.

A number of staffing changes took place. Diane Gipson was promoted to Supervisor of Retirement Services, Mary Markel was promoted to Supervisor of Benefits Administration, and Shelly LaVallee and Adrea Surette were promoted to Administrative Staff. Regina Caines joined our staff as Special Assistant to the Vice President for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, and Nora Costa joined us as Manager of Compensation. William Cain had a change in status from temporary assignment to permanent assignment as a Personnel Officer after Sharon Bridburg transferred to the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education. Valerie Chu has joined us for a temporary, one-year assignment as a Personnel Officer. Seogae Han, Armando Neves and Nancy Olt left to pursue positions that provided greater interest.

As of June 1, 1998, of the total of 37 administrative staff in the Personnel Office, 11 (30%) are members of minority groups and 26 (70%) are women. (In 1997, of the total of 33 administrative staff in the Personnel Office, 10 (30%) were members of minority groups and 23 (70%) were women. As of June 1, 1998, of the total of 22 support staff in the Personnel Office, 6 (27%) are members of minority groups and 18 (82%) are women. (In 1997, of the total of 20 support staff in the Personnel Office, 3 (16%) were members of minority groups and 15 (75%) were women.

Joan F. Rice

MEDICAL DEPARTMENT

The care of our community, including prevention and treatment of illness, health education and response to the greater MIT community needs remains the major focus of the Department. The integration of new clinical and administrative personnel continues. Our external relationships with Partners HealthCare System (especially the Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's hospitals) have been improved through enhanced communications via personal and computer interactions. A number of noteworthy accomplishments and initiatives should be mentioned in summary:

MEDICAL CARE ACTIVITIES

Dental Service

This year marked the beginning of a new organization of the Dental Service under the leadership of Dr. Gregory A. Stoute who assumed the combined directorship of both the Harvard University Dental Service and the MIT Dental Service. Among the organizational changes that have occurred this past year has been the hiring of a practice manager responsible for daily operations. In addition, a decision was reached to have the Service primarily devoted to routine dental care including dental prophylaxis. With the reorganization, tertiary dental services, at least for the time being, will be referred to the Harvard Dental School or private clinic. As an important part of the reorganization, a staffing model is being put in place which includes a methodology for evaluation and compensation. This methodology has been developed with substantial support from the practice staff. It is anticipated that with these changes, as well as physical renovations and medical/dental record integration, we will see considerable growth and greater acceptance of the Dental Service.

Medical Service

Following last year's major changes in personnel related to early retirement, this year saw no personnel changes. A physician evaluation program has been developed and is instrumental in determining the level of salary support. Benefits for Health Plan members remain stable except that we now are referring patients to the MGH for acupuncture treatment for recalcitrant chronic pain problems. This service is being evaluated carefully and the hope is that it will provide additional help to patients who have an insoluble pain problem. The internal medical service has been intimately involved in alcohol education initiatives in fraternities and in the dormitories, has worked with MedLINKS students at MIT through Health Education services, and special efforts have been made in the development of written information, especially by Dr. William Kettyle and Dr. Mark Goldstein.

Considerable discussion around care of retirees and Medicare-eligible individuals has continued. The potential for offering a Senior Plan along with one of the larger established HMOs is in development. The first stage of such an undertaking will be becoming a Part A Medicare provider and in order to come into compliance with HCFA and present Medicare reimbursement policies, we have made significant changes both in our laboratory forms and in the encounter forms that are used by all providers to comply with standards that are set by the government. Coming into compliance in these areas is vitally important to maintain our position in caring for elderly individuals. As upcoming financial constraints continue to put pressure on the department, internists will continue to strive to deliver the highest quality of personalized care possible. This has as been our tradition and we will continue it while seeking improvements through our commitment to care.

After Hours Service

The After Hours Service, providing 24-hour , 7 day-a-week, on site physician coverage has been busy during this past fiscal year with approximately 8,000 visits. There were 3,500 student visits, amounting to 10% of the total student visits to the Medical Department. It is apparent from surveys and discussions with students that the After Hours clinic is vitally important since students are often tied up during the middle of the day and therefore utilize evenings and weekends to seek help for health problems. Scheduling of appointments in the Urgent Care area on weekends and on holidays has worked very well to decrease waiting time and therefore patient acceptance. Many medications are now stocked in the After Hours area and this allows us to start medications at night or weekends rather than ask patients to seek out pharmacies in the community at odd hours. Finally the student focus groups have included questions about the After Hours service and these are being evaluated and will be used to improve patient satisfaction.

Inpatient Medical Service

During the past year there were 577 admissions made up of students, dependents, affiliates, Health plan members, Medicare individuals, Draper Lab and fee-for-service admissions. The Clinical Research Center accounted for 288 inpatient days. To assist the Clinical Research Center, two inpatient rooms have been renovated to facilitate overnight sleep study research. Other investigations include studies of amino acid metabolism, cardiovascular and neurological regulation, growth and development of adolescents. New computer linkages with the MGH and Partners HealthCare have made clinical care more efficient in communications. In addition, we have brought patients back after procedures without having to stay at a tertiary care hospital. We have provided hospice care for MIT patients and we are looking forward to decisions regarding Medicare Part A.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Service

Statistics for this fiscal year showed a growth in patient care from approximately 7,500 to approximately 8,600 visits and a growth from 166 deliveries to 185 deliveries. We also had a very acceptable Cesarian section rate of 12.3% with less than 10% being primary Cesarian sections. GYN surgeries have been down a bit from 57 last year to 41 this year. The staff has expanded to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Dr. Charles Eades and the resignation of Dr. James Marquardt. Dr. Chana Wasserman has joined the staff and there has been increased clinical time from nurse clinician Dolores Vidal and this has helped compensate for the retirement of nurse midwife Barbara Merrifield. In attempting to refine patient care standards and better serve our patients, we initiated joint staff and support staff meetings on a quarterly basis to improve communications and benefit from the crosscurrent of ideas generated in these meetings. Communications avenues with Pediatrics, including monthly meetings, have begun and with the help of nurse clinician Pat Bartels in Pediatrics we have developed a system which transfers prenatal information to Pediatrics for inclusion in newborns' records. All practitioners continue to participate in community activities including IAP lectures, premed advising, MedLINKS advising, participating in HST programs, HMS primary care mentorship program, precepting MGH nurse practitioner students, and supervising residents at Brigham and Women's GYN Clinic.

Pediatrics and Student Health

A variety of activities in addition to traditional pediatric care ensued this past year. A book edited and written by members of the MIT Pediatrics Service titled Our Baby: The First Year was published. Drs. Bass, Katz and Goldstein were all involved in that undertaking. This is a book that reviews the care of babies in the first year of life, reflects on the philosophies of the MIT Pediatrics Service, and is being distributed nationally through Barron's Educational Service. The Pediatric Service has also been the site for HMS primary care students as well as residency training for Medical-Pediatric Residents from the Massachusetts General Hospital and a nurse practitioner training program. Nurse clinical coordinator Pat Bartels has served on the long range committee of MIT that has been looking at child care services at the Institute.

As regards student health, a committee was organized with Dr. Goldstein as chair to evaluate the care given to students. The committee arranged for focus group interviews of students. Student ideas, that were in may ways much different from anticipated, have helped us to better define the needs of students, especially nights and weekends. Following the tragic death of Scott Krueger, the Medical Department engaged in a number of responses including living group talks, information pieces in The Tech, many conversations with other groups within the Institute, as well as with colleges and universities around the country. Dr. Goldstein was appointed by President Vest to cochair the Working Group on Dangerous Drinking which completed its three-quarter-of-a year's activities recently with a robust report. In addition, a study was done to determine the reason why international students don't seek out mental health services at MIT and the results will be of value here and have also been presented to the American College Health Association. We have been engaged in an epidemiologic and diagnostic study of persistent cough in college students. Funded through the NIH, the study is looking at the increase in whooping cough (pertussis) among various age groups, since a mini epidemic has been occurring over the past 3-4 years. An outbreak of pertussis was documented in a MIT fraternity this past year and the study design allowed rapid diagnosis and treatment of infected students as well as prophylactic preventive measures designed to keep exposed well students well.

Environmental Medical Services

The Environmental Medical Service (EMS) continues to provide consultation activity relating to patient care, to education, and to a variety of professional activities including applied research. Over the past year, the development and beginning implementation of a strategic plan were initiated. The main recommendations, some of which are already in place, include the development of a monthly grand round series dealing with clinical problems relating to environmental medical activities and the appointment of three task forces charged with looking into curriculum development, improvement and training initiatives and applied research appropriate for the EMS. Members of the professional staff have, in addition to the various activities here on campus, been engaged in a variety of professional activities including journal articles and seminar presentations at meetings locally, nationally and internationally. In addition services have been intensified at Lincoln Laboratory and many members of EMS have contributed educational sessions during IAP. Biosafety, Industrial Hygiene and Radiation Safety areas have all been active, pursuing many of the tasks and initiatives that are natural consequences of working in a robust technological and research institution like MIT and Lincoln Lab. Of note, Dr. Robert McCunney has been designated the new President-Elect of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, an international medical society of 7,000 occupational medical physicians.

Health Education Service

In attractively and efficiently renovated quarters, the Health Education Service has continued to serve as a resource for the entire community. Communication has been enhanced by the development of a new Health Education Service brochure and by signs and literature racks throughout the Department as well as in other areas of the Institute. Health Education prescription pads have been developed and improve department-wide communications. A decision was made to have the Health Education leadership in the hands of a physician, as a liaison function, and to identify a suitable individual to fill a health education position that would be dedicated primarily to the students.

Many workshops and lectures initiated with the help of the Health Education Service were held during the year. IAP featured 77 workshops sponsored by Health Education including two multi- disciplinary open houses focusing on cancer and diabetes. At Lincoln Lab, 14 workshops were offered this year, a new program developed in response to requests from Lincoln Laboratory. Efforts of the health educators for students centered around alcohol during the fall term. An intensive examination and evaluation of alcohol educational programming were undertaken and expansion of that programming ensued under the leadership of Dr. William Kettyle working with the Health Ed staff, but especially Ms. Tracy Deosvich, health educator for students, and Ronald Fleming, head of the Employee Assistance Program. Written material and many presentations to living groups underscored the potential dangers of excessive drinking.

The MedLINKS program continues to be active and very successful. The MedLINK steering committee has been reorganized by our new Health Educator, Ms. Roseanne Guerriero, and coordinated MedLINKS training in January was then extended to a variety of educational activities including World AIDS Day, campus wide eating disorders campaign, and a major week long "Destress for Success" week before final exams in May. Health Education continues to play a major role in the Residence Orientation week, in IAP, and in the interactive theatre troupe, UpFront, a subgroup of MedLINKS that develops education skits performed in living groups and on campus.

Mental Health Service

The Social Work and Psychiatric services completed their merger to form the Mental Health Service including merging of records. The appointment system was integrated as well and appropriate emergency coverage and clinical rotations were put in place. The Social Work group was brought up to full complement with the hiring of a second individual, Jessica Barton, M.S.W., a superb clinician with special experience in psychotherapy, family counseling and substance abuse. The consolidation of the services was aided by physical renovations of our space, the waiting area was reconfigured for privacy and comfort, and the conference room was resituated. A larger and more secure record room was built to house the consolidated records. The renovations that have been widely praised as being functionally very effective.

New developments this year included the creation of an administrative position, Staff Supervisor in the Mental Health Service. A new and improved encounter form has enhanced data collection A new Mental Health operations group has been formed, meeting weekly to review operational problem of the service as well as recommending new initiatives. The training program was expanded to include an advanced social work student from Simmons and training in other programs has continued. The retirement of Dr. Joseph Brenner, after 32 years of service, led to a reorganization with the assumption of leadership responsibilities by younger members. The Mental Health Service continued to be very active in community outreach, in educational programs and in consultations relating to campus distress and stress.

Dr. Ronald Fleming continues to supervise the Institute Personal Assistance Program, is involved in clinical activities and in supervisor training, in consultation, participation in Institute-wide activities such as substance abuse, and workplace violence. His sensitive role in this area is greatly appreciated in the Mental Health Service, in the Department, and in the MIT and Lincoln Lab. communities.

Surgical Service

A major effort of the Surgical Services this past year has been integration with the Massachusetts General Hospital. The volume of general surgery has increased significantly during this period but it is unclear if this is a blip or a permanent trend. Due to the significant volume of breast disease and breast cancer in the MIT community, and in order to better serve the community in this area, we have written two pamphlets, one on breast cancer and one on patients with new breast problems. The newest initiative is a revisit of the feasibility of a day surgery here on campus.

Nursing Service

In addition to the ambulatory and inpatient unit services provided by registered nurses, physician assistants, and nurse clinicians, community service continues to be a major focus. These activities include Freshman Orientation and new student registration, flu vaccine clinics, participation in IAP activities, and clinical support during graduation ceremonies and other large population activities on campus. Several of the MIT nurse practitioners and physician assistants precepted graduate nursing students for advanced nursing practice from the MGH Institute of Health Professions and Simmons College. The Nursing Continuing Education Committee this year was approved as provider of continuing education in nursing by the Massachusetts Nursing Association. Efforts continue in the Department to build a collaborative practice among physicians, non physician providers, and the nursing group where the skills and expertise of each discipline can come together to improve patient care and provider communication as well as continuing education.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Clinical Research Center

Dr. Schwamm replaced William Dietz as Associate Program Director of the CRC and as liaison to the Medical Department serving on the Executive Committee. Studies done at the CRC continue to focus on human nutrition and metabolism, cognitive neuroscience and neuropharmacology, and brain function. The CRC continues to relate clinically to the Medical Department with Dr. Elaine Shiang serving as liaison and the CRC utilizing the Inpatient Unit for 288 days of research subject participation. Representatives of the CRC serve on all of the major committees of the Medical Department.

Lincoln Laboratory Medical Service

The Clinic continues to play an active role in the care of the Lincoln Laboratory employees, visitors, students, subcontractors, and special program participants. Other than routine and usual care, 8 emergency patients were seen who required triage to acute care hospitals. There were a total of over 3,000 patient visits to this modest clinic. Various educational efforts were provided at the Laboratory including a video tape library for patient use and a variety of educational sessions, some during IAP and others during the course of the year. Parenting programs were held at Lincoln Laboratory using medical providers from campus. In addition to other activities, the Lincoln Lab medical service performs a medical assessment review on individuals who have official assignments to the Kwajalein facility. A major undertaking begun during the latter part of this fiscal year has been the evaluation and initial planning for a medical satellite on the Lincoln campus in an unsecured area that would be available for Lincoln Lab employees, their families, and other members of the MIT community who are MIT Health Plan participants. In addition, an expanded facility will allow the walk-in employee benefit to better serve the Lincoln Lab community.

Clinical Operations and Administration

Maintaining and improving quality while minimizing cost continue to be major efforts of our administration. Our affiliation with the Partners HeatlhCare network has allowed us to revise and improve procurement of some professional and hospital-based services for our patients and management of this affiliation continues to require administrative time and effort. We continue to strive to improve the mechanics of patient access to care. Our staff is becoming increasingly integrated with the activities of the Massachusetts General Hospital. In addition to caring for our patients at the MGH, many of our staff members participate in teaching activities at the Hospital.

The Evening Hours program initiated two years ago continues to function in a fashion that improves patient access to care and makes maximal use of our physical plant. A committee chaired by Mark Goldstein, representing several segments of the Department, meets on a regular basis to discuss ways of improving services to this important constituency. In addition, the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committee continues to provide information and set policy that ensures high quality care at a reasonable cost. A new contractual relationship with our ophthalmologists should result in significant savings, while at the same time ensuring excellent patient access to ophthalmologic surgery and rapidly available coverage nights and weekends for emergency eye problems.

Members of the Medical Department staff continue to play very active roles in activities on campus -- premed advising, MedLINK monitoring, participation in IAP programs are some of these activities.

MIT Health Plans

After several years of declining contracts and membership, the MIT Health Plans showed a net gain in overall contracts as of January 1998 open enrollment. Outreach to all new members by the Marketing Administrator indicates that the new marketing materials have caught the community's attention and that the Health Plans orientation presentations and packets favorably compete with the other plans offered by MIT. More focus groups over the past year provided useful information helping us make decisions about services, including the possible development of a Senior Plan. In response to inquiries from Lincoln Lab, the Department and the Health Plans are in the development phase of providing expanded medical services in a nonsecure area at Lincoln Lab. This new site will offer internal medicine and pediatrics care in the beginning stages of operation and will add other clinical services as wanted and needed. With this second site available for Health Plan members, it is hoped that additional Lincoln employees as well as MIT employees who live in the Western suburbs will choose one of the two MIT Health Plans for their care. Continued demand for competitive premiums, the ability to hold down costs with rising hospital rates, and new regulatory issues in the managed care industry will challenge the Health Plans Management team throughout the year.

Administrative Operations and Management

Administrative operations and management in the Medical Department continue to work in concert with and in support of clinical activities.

Begun in FY97, the ComMITment to Care program to provide the best possible clinical care and personal attention to patients has become a tangible reality within the department. All staff are familiar with the goals of the program and ComMITment to Care has become part of the "language" of the Department. During the past year, 31 employee focus groups were held within the department. These groups identified almost 900 obstacles to better patient services and staff interactions and made over 1000 recommendations for how to improve them. A ComMITment to Care mission statement was developed by the Steering Committee and signed by all employees. Soon, there will be framed ComMITment to Care mission statements displayed around the department. The Steering Committee has categorized the obstacles to better patient services and staff interaction into six major themes and is in the process of categorizing recommendations for each theme. Many suggestions that are easy to implement have already been implemented. While Arnold Weinberg and Annette Jacobs chair the Steering Committee, the major administrative and managerial work for the ComMITment to Care Program is being done by Tony Rogers, the senior manager for operations, and Gina Vild, a consultant for the department. We are pleased with the progress we have made to date and expect to continue our work on this multi facetted long term project in FY98.

The Management Information System Steering Committee selected a vendor during FY97 and a contract between MIT and IDX, the vendor choice, was negotiated and signed. The department is currently in the process of planning for the implementation of a complete new information system which will meet department administrative, financial, and clinical needs and interface appropriately with relevant MIT information systems. The target date for beginning the actual implementation is the summer of 1999.

Marketing efforts continue. New brochures for student services which follow the same themes of the Health Plan were developed and released within the last year. Materials for both groups have been well received and are being noticed. Health Plan membership and utilization of the department have increased.

Rather then contracting with a community physician group to provide services to MIT and Lincoln Health Plan members and students who live in the western suburbs, we are moving forward in collaboration with Lincoln Laboratory to expand onsite services at the Lincoln Laboratory facility. Administrative staff will be responsible for working with Lincoln Laboratory on renovations, marketing, and for internal planning for staffing and assuring that the myriad of details for successful functioning of the practice and communication with the MIT Medical facility are assured.

Annette Jacobs

Staff Personnel Changes June 1, 1997 through May 31, 1998

Appointments

Jessica Barton, LICSW 9/1/97 Social Worker

Susan Connelly 2/2/98 Supervisor, Mental Health

Gayle DeBay, RPH 11/1/97 Pharmacist

Jeffrey Doucette 7/7/97 Industrial Hygiene Technologist

Grace Gibson, PHD 7/1/97 Psychologist

Rosanne Guerriero 1/1/98 Health Educator

Rita Harding, RN 9/8/97 Nurse, Inpatient Unit

Donna Hayes, RDH 9/8/97 Supervisor, Dental

William McCarthy 8/1/97 Assistant Radiation Protection Officer

Hossein Monzavi, RPH 6/23/97 Pharmacist

Eileen O'Keefe 8/18/97 Manager of Financial Services, MIT Health Plans

Allison Parisi 12/1/97 Financial Analyst

Mark Perkins 5/4/98 Senior Project Manager, Information Systems

Kimberly Schive 2/23/98 Communications Coordinator

Patrick Song 5/4/98 M Programmer/Analyst, Information Systems

Kathleen Sullivan, RDH 11/10/97 Dental Hygienist

Chana Wasserman, MD 8/1/97 Obstetrician/Gynecologist

Terminations

Joseph Brenner, MD 6/30/97 Psychiatrist

Thomas Crowther 6/30/97 Assistant Industrial Hygiene Officer

Anthony Cavallerano, OD 11/19/97 Optometrist

Dirk Greineder, MD 12/31/97 Allergist

James Marquardt, MD 6/30/97 Obstetrician/Gynecologist

Maureen Rezendes, PHD 6/30/97 Psychologist

Stefan Schatzki, MD 4/30/98 Radiologist

Perry Spearman 11/30/97 Assistant Radiation Protection Officer

Changes

Robert Edwards 6/1/97 Associate Industrial Hygiene Officer (Promotion)

Pamela Greenley 10/1/97 Associate Industrial Hygiene Officer (Promotion)

CONCLUSION

In the greater than 25 years of existence in its present form, the Medical Department has rarely had as many challenges or as many major efforts under way as currently. The external environment continues to change; quality of care demands documentation and benchmarking; fiscal responsibility and conservation of financial resources are not going to leave us. The Department is blessed by a committed employee group. Everyone has seriously and selflessly joined in the many tasks before us. The loyalty and leadership of Ms. Annette Jacobs, Executive Director, and Dr. William Kettyle, Associate Medical Director, have been instrumental in our planning and progress. I would also like to mention, with appreciation, the special efforts of Mr. Anthony Rogers, Senior Manager for Operations, Ms. Mary Smith, Director of Finance and the MIT Health Plans, Dr. Peter Reich, Chief of Mental Health Services, and Ms. Laureen Gray, Director of Nursing Services.

Arnold N. Weinberg, M.D.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Over the last year the Training & Development function has evolved to become Performance Consulting & Training (PC&T). This new entity's mission is to work with departments, laboratories, and centers to enhance their abilities to achieve business goals. Services include needs assessment, planning and measurement, process improvement, team development, custom-designed training, meeting facilitation, resource referrals, and conductive learning environments. As a result, this team not only sponsors a variety of professional development training events for MIT employees, it also serves an internal consultants. In addition, it is responsible for the operation of the MIT Professional Learning Center (W89).

Some constituents who have used the team's consulting services include the Office of the Dean for Students & Undergraduate Education, Physical Plant, the Libraries, the Working Group on Support Staff Issues, the MIT Press,

Management Reporting, and the Academic Administrators Network. This work has ranged from facilitating organizational development to developing competency models to creating work plans.

In the training area, the number of courses offered to MIT employees has increased. Over 1400 people attended courses offered either to all employees or to specific departments, laboratories, and centers. Topics include teambuilding, communications, good management practices, coaching skills, decision making tools, and leadership. Even more courses are planned for next year.

In addition, PC&T sponsored two project teams which developed sets of recommendations for senior leadership's consideration. One focused on a program for new employees (in addition to the current benefits orientation). The other focused on training policies and administration. These recommendations, if accepted, will begin implementation next year.

Margaret Ann Gray

DISABILITIES SERVICES OFFICE

The Disabilities Services Office (DSO) is responsible for providing effective disability services and programs for students, faculty, and employees at MIT. These services include physical and communication access, academic accommodations for students, and the identification and implementation of reasonable accommodations for employees.

Disabilities Services works with the personnel officers, departments heads, immediate supervisors, and outside agencies to provide employees with disabilities an interactive process in identifying appropriate reasonable accommodations. A total of 45 employees identified themselves as individuals with disabilities and requested accommodations. Due to the increase in identified employees and also the types and severity of disabilities, the DSO involvement has increased substantially.

Over the past year, 18 different presentations to the MIT community on their responsibilities during the hiring process to ensure that persons with disabilities are a) provided necessary accommodations when seeking employment; b) that they are treated consistently and fairly; and c) that position descriptions do not impermissibly screen-out persons with disabilities. Work has continued with individual departments developing procedures for rewriting job descriptions to properly identify essential job functions. In addition, the DSO has been working extensively with various departments that have hired employees with disabilities.

In addition to providing academic access to students with disabilities in the form of course material translation, the DSO has focused on the creation of administrative forms and a set of Institute policies and procedures to provide accurate guidelines for students and faculty requesting/receiving services. The DSO has assisted 102 students with disabilities during the past academic year.

With input from numerous people in the MIT community, the DSO has developed a guideline titled "Policies and Procedures For MIT Students with Disabilities." This guide outlines MIT's commitment to individuals with disabilities and the philosophy of the DSO. It clearly defines the processes used by our office for requesting and obtaining reasonable accommodations in order to balance the student's right to access with our obligation to protect the integrity of the Institute programs and services. This booklet has been approved by the Faculty Policy Committee and was sent to all faculty members for review. The guide will be available on the web and published later this year.

In developing this policy, it has unified the entities providing academic access at MIT by defining a more efficient and consistent system for obtaining services. These entities would include the DSO, Adaptive Technology for Information and Computing (ATIC) Lab, the Learning Disabilities Specialist, and the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

Barbara Roberts

HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT TEAM

The Human Resource Practices Design/Development (HRPD) Team, sponsored by the Vice President for Human Resources, was convened in 1996 to support the changing needs of the Institute. HRPD initiatives are shaped by both internal decisions about business processes and forces in the external market. The MIT Human Resource Principles adopted in 1994 provide the foundation for the team's work. The project scope does not include

academic or off-campus positions.

Members of the core HRPD team are Patricia Brady, Project Director/Team Leader, Melissa Damon, Margaret Ann Gray, Alyce Johnson, Barbara Peacock-Coady, Mark Snow, and Maureen Wolfe.

The HRPD functions as a temporary, de facto research unit for the Personnel Department and will complete work in January 1999. Its job is to develop, test, and deliver a set of effective "tools" for attracting and retaining the best employees to support MIT's academic and research mission. In the "tool kit" are program outlines, resources, and knowledgeable practitioners.

Core HRPD team members were assisted in FY98 by approximately three dozen employees on campus (administrative and support staff) loaned by their home departments to work on various HRPD projects on a 20% basis for 6 to 8 months.

The final research reports and recommendations delivered to Joan Rice in FY98 concerned: changes to the classification and compensation program; establishing a recognition and rewards program; establishing an orientation to MIT operations program for employees; and changes in training policies and administration.

Under the auspices of the HRPD project, a number of staff are developing expertise in applying new approaches for staff selection, assessment, development and performance management practices. The new approaches were

developed in response to needs articulated by the campus community in the design phase of the HRPD project. They are based on understanding the full range of competencies (technical skills, knowledge and behaviors) that lead to successful performance on the job.

In the final phase of the HRPD project, the team will complete the development of the "tool kit" and also propose a 2-year plan for continued evolution of improved human resource practices.

Patricia A. Brady

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

Employee Relations consists of three areas within the personnel department; Personnel Services and Employment, Labor Relations, and Compensation. Our mission is to serve MIT by providing consulting, advising, strategic planning and administrative services in the areas of employment, employee relations, compensation and labor relations. We are committed to creating a professional work environment where employees are treated fairly in support of MIT's mission of excellence in education and research.

COMPENSATION

In the 97/98 fiscal year, the Compensation Office participated in 39 external salary surveys conducted by universities, associations, and consulting groups from across the country, and responded to over 40 email or phone requests for position-specific salary data. As in previous years, the Office conducted two major surveys with approximately 30 participants each. These MIT survey results continue to provide us with a solid basis in determining our market positions, and in developing our review allocation proposals to the Executive Committee. In addition to using our own surveys to determine market position, this year we expanded our analysis of the Administrative and Support Staff market position by including several external salary surveys.

Nine salary reviews covering approximately 6,800 Campus employees were conducted this year. As part of our continuous effort to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the annual salary review processes, we continue to use electronic review sheets for the faculty review which were used by the Deans' offices; and for the research, administrative, and support staff reviews, electronic review sheets were provided to the Personnel Officers. All of the electronic review sheets provide meaningful summary statistics which enable management to assess the financial impact of review recommendations. The feedback from users continues to be most favorable. We strive to continue the automation of the salary review process in the coming fiscal year.

A total of 75 administrative positions were classified or re-classified this fiscal year. The total number of active classification positions that currently exist in the Institute's Administrative Staff Classification System is 740, with over 300 inactive position titles eliminated this year.

The Compensation Office, under the sponsorship of the Vice President for Human Resources, has begun a project to redesign the classification and compensation system for Administrative Staff. This project is the first of many programmatic changes to come from the work of the Human Resource Practices Development (HRPD) Team. The Wilson Group, a compensation consulting firm, has been engaged to provide design and implementation support.

The project has several goals, some of which are to: produce a system which is easy to understand, assess and use; to expand MIT's use of market benchmarks; to enable Managers and Supervisor to creatively compensate and reward their most highly effective employees; and to provide efficiencies in salary administration through the use of new technology.

In order to accomplish this work and have it well-received by the community, four support teams have been formed. The first two teams, staffed mainly by members of the Personnel Office and HRPD team, will be responsible for the actual analysis and design work of the project. The second two teams, comprised of cross-Campus representation from all Administrative Departments and Schools at the Senior Officer, Director, and supervisory levels, will act as advisors for the program's design issues. The project work is anticipated to be completed and ready for implementation by June 1999.

LABOR RELATIONS

The Office of Labor Relations is responsible for negotiation and administering the collective bargaining agreements covering approximately 1,300 MIT employees in five bargaining units. Labor Relations also represents MIT in grievance arbitrations, and in some cases before administrative agencies in employment-related cases.

On November 20, 1997 the Institute signed new agreements expiring June 30, 2000, with Local 254 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for the Campus and Lincoln bargaining units. On December 31, 1997, the Institute signed a new agreement, expiring June 30, 1999 with the Research, Development and Technical Employees Union (RDTEU). The wage increases in the agreements were consistent with MIT budgetary guidelines.

The Institute is still negotiating with the MIT Campus Police association (MITCPA) for a successor agreement to the Agreement that expired June 30, 1997. The prior agreement has been extended through June 30, 1998.

One agreement expires on June 30, 1998, that with the Security Officer's Independent Union (SOIU), the Union that represents the security guards at Lincoln Laboratory. Negotiations for a successor agreement continue as of the date of writing.

The number of grievances rose slightly from the previous year. Three arbitration cases were decided, with a favorable result to the Institute in one case. Three arbitration cases were settled prior to arbitration. Eight grievances have been filed to arbitration and have yet to be heard.

During the year, two cases were filed before the National Labor Relations Board. These cases are in addition to five cases that were pending before the Board. During this same time, two cases were resolved in favor of MIT, and the results confirmed on appeal to the National Board Office in Washington, D. C. One case that had been deferred to arbitration was resolved against MIT at arbitration, one was settled prior to going to the complaint stage, and three remain deferred to arbitration with no arbitration date yet.

In addition this Office provide advice and counsel to departments, centers and laboratories contemplating business design changes that impact collective bargaining issues and continue to work closely in support to various re-engineering efforts.

PERSONNEL SERVICES

This group consists of 7 Personnel Officers, 1 Employment Officer and 5 full-time and one half-time Staff Assistants. We also have temporary authorization for 2 Personnel Offices who are assigned directly to reengineering teams.

In addition to the day to day duties of advertising job openings, providing assistance with staffing including applicant tracking and interviewing, employee job counseling , policy interpretation, performance management assistance, salary administration and conflict resolution, much time was spent this past year supporting the Institute's Reengineering effort and working with the HRPD team.

Staff from this group helped with the reorganization of the student services area and worked collaboratively with HRPD on many of their projects including the rewards and recognition and new employee orientation teams. They also participated in many training activities throughout the year from conducting orientation sessions for new employees and leading classes as part of the Institute's Management Principles Training Program to presenting several sessions during IAP on human resource practices in collaboration with HRPD.

In the employment area we have increased our efforts to establish closer working relationships with minority organizations such as the Urban League in an effort to attract more minority candidates to MIT. We have worked to develope a Diversity Resource Directory which will be an on line directory of minority organizations and publications that will assist hiring managers in their serious searches. The tight job market has also resulted in our working on new advertising styles as well as participation in job fairs and greater utilization of the web to promote opportunities at MIT.

During the past year approximately 8,400 applications for positions were received and processed. 751 were hired for positions listed in the Personnel Office, of whom 180 were MIT internal applicants who were seeking employment alternatives for either promotion opportunities or other reasons. Kenneth Wolff, Employment Officer reviewed 1,498 applications for support staff positions, interviewed 155 candidates and assisted in filling 120 positions.

Some 120 unemployment claims were processed this year for former campus employees. We work closely with the representatives of the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training to provide timely information to employees who terminate and may be eligible for benefits, including individuals in departments impacted by funding or staff restructuring related to re-engineering efforts. We continue to partner with Manchester Partners International to provide employees with outplacement and career counseling assistance.

Personnel Changes

During this period, Nora Costa was hired as the Manager of Compensation, Valerie Chu as Personnel Officer and Jackie Wood as Staff Assistant. Of the 21 people in the Employee Relations group, 65% were female and 24% were members of a minority group up from 15% a year ago. Employee Relations consists of four areas within the Personnel Office: Personnel Services, Labor Relations, Employment, and Compensation.

Robert J. Lewis

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & DIVERSITY

The Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Office (AA/EO) initiatred activity six months ago at the time of the hiring of the Special Assistant for AA/EO, Regina Caines and Support Staff Assistant, Leona Martin. The office provides assistance to the Institute in the sreas of affirmative action, equal employment opportunity and cultural and racial diversity. The primary responsibilities of this function are to support the Institute's schools and departments by means of a two-pronged effort to 1) assist in recruitment, hiring, advancement, and retention of underrepresented minorities and women; and 2) develop strategies to promote and enhance understanding, sensitivity and acceptance for diversity among students, staff and faculty.

The AA/EO Office initiated activities by beginning within the Personnel to establish contact with the personnel officers and the leadership of each department within Human Resources. The "personnel department" contacts included the heads of Benefits and Systems; Compensation; Disability/Accessibility Services; Team Training and Development; and HR Practices Design/Development.

Additionally, meetings were held with the administrative leadership teams of each Institute School and Department. The personnel officers assisted the AA/EO Office with arrangements for these meetings and their involvement reinforced the office's proposed goal to integrate affirmative action and diversity practices within all personnel functions. In support of this goal, the office has initiated meetings with the HRPD Team to work with them toward the inclusion and integration of AA/EO practices.

The off-shoot of the introductory meetings has been follow-up invitations for the AA?EO Office to conduct affirmative action/diversity discussions with the extended staff of the department leaders visited. The use of the "Intuitively Obvious" video series, developed by Clarence Williams, have set the stage for lively discussions. Those who have participated have begun to understand the depth and nature of many of the issues and concerns that revolve around race and gender relations at MIT. The administrative departments that have been involved in the office's introductory and diversity sessions to-date include School of Engineering; School of Science; School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Sloan School; Information systems; Libraries; Media Arts and Sciences; and Medical Department.

The AA/EO Office is represented on the Campus Committee on Race Relations and has actively participated in the recent activities, plans, and proposals conducted by the committee. In addition, the office provided mediation support to students and employees who have raised claims based on gender, race or culture-related concerns.

In support of MIT's minority recruitment efforts, the office provided assistance as requested for specific position openings. This support is preliminary to the full-service assistance expected from the Minority Recruitment Program that the AA/EEO Office has initiated together with members of the Personnel Department.

Regina A. Caines

BENEFITS AND SYSTEMS

BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION

The Benefits Office, with the assistance of Faculty and Staff Information Services, developed and implemented the Benefits Self-Service Enrollment System. This system enhances benefits transactions by allowing employees to enroll in benefits using their phone, as in the past, while adding functionality for computer based enrollment over the Internet. The system, which was introduced during the November open enrollment period, also provides direct real time updates to the Personnel database and reduces the need for Benefits Office data entry. During the open enrollment period, approximately 30% of benefit transactions were made using the Internet application.

An Enrollment System module, designed to handle the unique aspects of the new hire enrollment process, is nearing completion. A third module is currently under development. This application will allow for benefit changes resulting from life events, such as marriage or the birth of a child. The development of the Enrollment System necessitated a complete review of administrative procedures and the Benefits Office continues to modify and test new work flows as a result of these changes.

We continue to make progress on eliminating paper transactions to our benefit carriers and to other central MIT departments. We have automated the process of sending enrollment data to Blue Cross, Delta Dental and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. This project results in the elimination of duplicate data entry and in a streamlined enrollment process for the employee. In addition, we are working on feeding data from other internal systems to our HRIS/Benefits system, facilitating data exchange between MIT departments.

The content and visual aids for the new hire orientation were revised in response to program changes and participant feedback. In addition, benefits information for new employees was added to the Benefits Office web site, providing an opportunity for new and prospective employees to access information about their options and plan provisions.

The Benefits Office implemented changes to the Tuition Assistance Plan which provides reimbursement for courses which assist employees to obtain, maintain or improve skills necessary to develop their careers at MIT. The amount available per calendar year for approved non-MIT academic courses was increase from $3,500 to $5,250.

The Benefits Office continued its efforts to provide retirement planning and investment education services by sponsoring seminars and workshops on investment fundamentals, estate planning, and Social Security in October 1997 and January 1998. These sessions on Campus and at Lincoln Laboratory

were attended by 1,600 employees and retirees.

The comprehensive review of the MIT Retirement Plan begun in 1996-97 was completed. Conclusions of the review include recommendations to outsource most services associated with the 401(k) Supplemental Plan, expand 401(k) Plan investment options, and enhance the Plan's early retirement features. These recommendations were presented to the Trustees of the MIT Retirement Plan, Academic Council and to the Executive Committee of the MIT Corporation.

During the year there were several changes in personnel. Andrea Surette was promoted to administrative staff. Shelly LaVallee from the Office of Disability Services, Charles Ormsbee from the FASIS and Shawn Spencer from Campus Police joined the Benefits Office.

FACULTY AND STAFF INFORMATION SERVICES

Faculty and Staff Information Services (FASIS) has the responsibility to acquire, maintain, and provide employment information about faculty, staff and other persons affiliated with MIT to ensure the currency, privacy, and accuracy of this information. In addition this office serves as the department liaison with computer support groups in the development of long-range computer systems.

The Office continues to process approximately 14,000 transactions for appointments and changes. In addition, the office continues its role in the processing of salary review, in the servicing of data requests received from within the Personnel Office and the MIT Community, in responding to external employment verification requests, and in the production of the staff telephone directory.

There are two main computer systems in the Personnel Office. The Cyborg Human Resource system and the Restrac Employment Management system. There were no major system upgrades this fiscal year. A significant number of changes have been made to Cyborg in preparation for the year 2000. It is anticipated that Cyborg will be Year 2000 compliant by the end of the second quarter in the next fiscal year.

The Office spent a considerable amount of time improving internal processes. A portion of the IPEDS survey was sent electronically to the Department of Higher Education. This automation reduced several days of work to two hours. Several of the department's forms were also added to the FASIS website this fiscal year. The label request form can be completed on the web and sent directly to the FASIS e-mail list. Another form is the personal change notice form that can also be completed on the web and sent directly the FASIS e-mail list for action.

The Office continues to provide technology support to all areas of the Personnel Department. One of the applications requiring our support was the Benefits Office self-service open enrollment application.

Marianne Howard

FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER

The Family Resource Center offers faculty, staff and students a broad range of services to assist with child care and schooling, normal parenting concerns, family relocation, and balancing work and family. In addition, the Center participates in a number of institutional, local and national work/life initiatives and makes available information and research on these issues.

Services offered by the Center include office consultations, informational "briefings", seminars, and discussion groups; the Center maintains and provides access to multiple referral databases, resource packets, and a lending library. This year the Center added 400 new MIT families (including 50 faculty, of whom many were relocating to MIT) to its list of current clients, now totaling roughly 4,000. Twenty eight seminars were offered on topics including stepparenting, adoption, job flexibility, balancing work and family, parenting teenagers, emergency/back-up child care, and schooling. Referral databases, which include child care, schools, camps, and special needs services, were expanded, and the development of on-line access to these databases is underway.

As an internal resource on work/life issues, Center activities this year included contributions to Institute discussions of job flexibility, child care, and faculty work/life issues. Externally, the Center continued to play a leadership role in several national professional organizations, including the National Parenting Education Network, and the Alliance of Work/Life Professionals.

Again this year, MIT work/family programs received national recognition from the Families and Work Institute, which will profile the Family Resource Center in an upcoming report, Ahead of the Curve: How America's Leading Companies are Meeting the Needs of New and Expectant Parents.

This March, the Center, staffed by two part-time co-administrators and one full-time senior office assistant, moved to the newly renovated Building 16. Separate offices for each administrator now offer increased client privacy, and reception and conference rooms provide greater access to books and other resources, as well as much needed seminar space.

Malika Bristol joined the Center as Senior Office Assistant in August, following Carolyn Hart's departure to attend graduate school.

This year, the Center has been able to increase minority representation on its staff by 33%.

Kathy Simons, A. Rae Simpson

MIT Reports to the President 1997-98