CUPA-HR

Join CUPA-HR’s government relations team on January 16 for a quick update of the current federal legislative and regulatory landscape. In this bimonthly briefing, we will cover new and upcoming policy issues that may impact your campus and higher ed institutions nationwide. This webinar is open to CUPA-HR members only, and registration is required. Sponsored by Segal. Learn more and register: https://ow.ly/GjVW50UBogL #higheredhr

There’s still time to submit a session proposal for the 2025 CUPA-HR Spring Conference taking place April 27-29 in Seattle! Proposal submissions are enthusiastically welcomed from all CUPA-HR members. Whether you’re a higher ed HR professional with valuable experiences to share, or a subject matter expert offering unique insights into the evolving challenges in higher ed HR, we want to hear from you. Don't miss this opportunity to make an impact — submit your proposal by January 10: https://ow.ly/khYN50UB8PC #higheredhr #cupahr25

Happy holidays from CUPA-HR! We hope your holiday season includes time for celebration and reflection. Please note that the CUPA-HR national office will be closed December 20-January 3. We’ll see you in 2025!

Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of several labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Ira's final overview of 2024 includes details on a Title IX, anti-male bias claim; a lawsuit filed against the NCAA by a Division I tennis player; the dismissal of a complaint against a university’s required DEI statement on its initial applicant screening process; and more. Read now: https://ow.ly/yNnN50UrOmI #higheredhr

For the past several years, CUPA-HR has participated in Knoxville’s Fantasy of Trees, an annual fundraiser for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. This year, CUPA-HR staff had fun decorating an "Elf" themed tree that was sold at the event to raise money for the hospital.

Don't miss your chance to share your innovative ideas, successful HR projects and impactful programs at the CUPA-HR 2025 Spring Conference, taking place April 27-29 in Seattle. Registration details will be available soon, but we invite you to submit your presentation proposal today! Note that only CUPA-HR members are eligible to submit a presentation proposal for the spring conference. Learn more and submit your proposal by January 8: https://ow.ly/AmFc50Uk8GH #higheredhr #cupahr25

Happy Thanksgiving from CUPA-HR! This Thanksgiving, we would like to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to our chapter, region and national boards of directors. We’re incredibly grateful for your dedication to the work and the higher ed HR profession.

Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of several labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Ira's November overview includes a possible strike by service and patient care workers at the University of California, involving employees at all 10 campuses and five health centers. Other court-related news includes a lawsuit concerning FERPA and the release of graduate student employee information, an educator's Title IX claim of anti-male bias, and more. Read now: https://ow.ly/3UYS50U9k13 #higheredhr

CUPA-HR is growing! We are looking for an enthusiastic, adaptable and creative individual to join our team as a content manager. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/dqyutuE

There’s a concerning trend in the higher ed workplace: women are not being promoted at the same rate as men. Women are well-represented in both lower-level higher ed administrator positions and at the assistant professor level among faculty. But a gender gap persists in the promotion process. With increasing levels of seniority, the number of women who fill executive administrator roles and senior, tenure-track faculty roles decreases. CUPA-HR data show that fewer than half (46%) of senior administrative officers are women, and only one-third (33%) of presidents are women. A similar pattern exists for tenure-track faculty, where the share of women drops successively from the assistant rank (53%) to associate (46%) to full professor (37%). Why are female faculty and staff not being promoted at the same rate as their male counterparts? At the root of the problem are long-standing myths about the promotion process, as well as biases about what a leader looks or acts like, says Jackie Bichsel, CUPA-HR’s associate vice president of research. These are the five core myths and misconceptions Bichsel identifies: 1. Promotions are based on straightforward, fair criteria. 2. Promotions are an open playing field. 3. Leaders must be charismatic. 4. Women need to be more confident and commanding to get a promotion. 5. Women don’t want leadership positions. Let’s briefly dig into #1 — the myth that promotions are based on straightforward, fair criteria. Promotion criteria are usually straightforward on paper, but there are multiple ways bias can be introduced to the process. Take tenure and promotion among faculty, for example, where the criteria are usually a weighted mix of expectations for publications, teaching evaluations and service. Yet decisions on promotion and tenure are not based on whether candidates check all the boxes. Instead, they are often decided with an up-or-down vote by a committee, allowing for the introduction of bias. Candidates who have equal qualifications on paper can have vastly different outcomes in the up-or-down, all-or-nothing tenure and promotion vote. And bias is widespread in other aspects of promotion. Across many career fields, women achieve better outcomes and are often rated higher on performance. Yet, men are rated higher on potential, which often outweighs ratings of performance. How can higher ed workplaces confront and mitigate such biases? How can we change our promotion practices instead of asking women to fit outdated perceptions of what leaders look like? How can promotion reward current leadership characteristics that are demonstrably effective? For a breakdown of the five myths and ways to combat them with research-backed approaches, see the comments for a link to the full article, What Does a Leader Look Like? Debunking Myths About Women in Leadership Roles. #higheredhr