Staff Town Hall Meeting President G. P. "Bud" Peterson and Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance Steve Swant provided campus updates and answered audience questions during the spring forum. Among the topics addressed include campus safety, the incoming freshman class, the progress of new research facilities, and a strategic framework for campus operations. In addition to those asked during the forum (start at 34:15), there were other staff inquiries that did not get addressed. They are: * *With GT's ability to hire incoming people at higher salaries than existing staff and high performers, how does GT plan to retain their high performing staff with the long standing lack of raises? * We have recently instituted the JCCS (Job Compensation and Classification System) that allows us to compare salaries at Georgia Tech with the rest of the Atlanta market. All positions are reviewed periodically to ensure that the salaries meet the market. This past year, we set aside resources for situations in which salary compression occurs, due to new hires coming in at higher salaries for the same position, in order to help resolve these issues. Requests for review should be made to the compensation office in the Office of Human Resources . Our plan is to continue this process and remain hopeful that the governor and legislature will soon restore raises for all University System employees. * *Given the success of the men's golf team, will you as President require the AA to add a female golf program? * We are certainly proud of the men's golf team and the tradition of excellence the players and Coach Heppler have established on the course and in the classroom. As the population of female students continues to grow at Georgia Tech, we will be adding one additional women's sport in the next few years. Women's golf is one of the sports currently under consideration by Dan Radakovich and the Athletic Association. * *Currently most staff work from 8 – 5 and many classes end at 6:00 p.m. during the week. As a staff member I would like to attend college courses, however it is difficult to do so when tech schedule is not structured to accommodate working adults. Will GATECH ever get to the point where start accommodating adult students, weekend classes, or an extended evening schedule? * At this time of economic uncertainly, there are currently no plans to expand our undergraduate offerings to night or weekend classes. Georgia Tech has traditionally offered students a traditional, residential college experience where we encourage students to fully participate in campus life. It would be difficult to offer the same high quality experience to night and weekend undergraduate students, especially when there is only limited demand. We do, however, have a large offering of Professional Education courses and I encourage you to visit http://www.pe.gatech.edu for more information. Also, as a University System employee, you are eligible for tuition assistance programs at all University System institutions, so I also encourage you to check area campuses that do offer night and weekend courses such as Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Southern Polytechnic State University and others. You can also inquire with your supervisor about flex time to attend classes. We have had a number of employees who have been able to complete bachelor's and advanced degrees at these institutions.