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Personnel Policy Terms

Glossary

Accommodation. See reasonable accommodation.

Administrator. The academic dean, department head or designee who is responsible for the management and the fiscal control of a unit within the university.

Appointed Position. A position that has been established as a budgeted line with benefits based upon the FTE.

Designated Representative. A representative chosen by an employee to act on their behalf.

Employee. A person employed by Indiana University for wages or salary, whether appointed or hourly.

Employer. Indiana University.

Equity. Freedom from bias or favoritism; dealing fairly with all concerned.

Essential Functions. Essential functions are the reason a position exists; those duties and tasks that are fundamental to the position.

Fiscal Year. An accounting period of 12 months; IU’s fiscal year is July 1 - June 30.

FTE. Full time equivalency, as referred to as full-time employment.

Grade Level. The alphabetical level assigned to a group of jobs.

Grievance. A specific complaint initiated by a non-probationary employee, group of employees or their authorized representative alleging that their employment has been, or is being, adversely affected by an improper application or interpretation of a university rule, regulation, policy, procedure, or practice or by a specified action of a supervisor that is contrary to university policy.

Income Protection Accrual. Earned sick time.

Incumbent. The current employee in a specific position.

Job. A collection of positions that have similar major duties and responsibilities.

Occupational Unit. The list of units is maintained by IU Human Resources for the purpose of administering various personnel policies related to seniority. See list of Occupational Units.

Part-Time Employee. A person employed by Indiana University for wages but not in a individually budgeted position. For policies affecting Part-Time Employees, see Personnel Policies for Part-Time Employees.

Pay Grade. The letter assignment that designates a pay range within the salary structure.

Position. A specific set of tasks, duties and responsibilities assigned to and performed by an individual.

Position Description. A document used in place of a position description to establish or reclassify position.

Quartile. Any one of four equal divisions.

RC. See responsibility center.

Reasonable Accommodation. Any change or adjustment that permits a qualified person with a disability to participate in the employment process, or as an employee to perform the essential functions of a job and enjoy the benefits and privileges of programs and activities available to other employees.

Responsibility Center (RC). An organization within the campus hierarchy to which executive management has delegated management authority. For academic units, a responsibility center generally corresponds to a college or school. For administrative units, a responsibility center is a collection of related support service organizations. The list of responsibility centers is maintained by the University Budget Office for the purpose of administering budgets.

Salary Range. The range of salaries, from lowest to highest, that is assigned to each grade level.

Salary Structure. Series of grade levels and related salary ranges established for all Support Staff jobs.

Staff Employee. A person employed by Indiana University for wages or salary in a individually budgeted position.

IU HR. University Human Resource Services; the department that has the university-wide responsibility for human resources administration.

Wage Progression. The progression of Support Staff salaries through their respective salary ranges.