1. State Law
1.1 State law (RSA 187-A:16 I, II, III, V, VI, and XVI) authorizes the Board of Trustees to hire, employ, and compensate such personnel as are "needed to provide a well-coordinated system of public higher education."
2. Delegation of Authority
2.1 The Chancellor, in consultation with the Administrative Board, shall adopt such University System employment policies as are necessary to meet the requirements of this policy and provide a well-coordinated system of public higher education.
2.2 The component institutions shall adopt such institutional policies as are necessary to meet the requirements of the University System policies referred to in the preceding paragraph.
2.3 The Board of Trustees reserves to itself the authority to establish and amend any employment policies applicable to Principal Administrators.
2.4 In matters involving the dismissal or involuntary discontinuation of employment of a PSC faculty member with tenure, the Programs and Services Committee may determine that it will grant a further hearing and make a final decision. For other faculty with tenure, labor contracts (KSC and UNH) or other agreements (Wheelock School Faculty) apply and do not include a review by the Trustees.
3. Content of University System Employment Policies
3.1 The University System employment policies shall establish terms and conditions of employment which will maximize the efficient and effective utilization of USNH human resources and ensure compliance with all applicable federal and state laws.
3.2 At a minimum those policies shall cover the following topics: Equal Opportunity Employment, recruitment and selection, placement, orientation, appointments, performance evaluation, probation and discipline, termination and lay-off, and medical information.
4. Termination and Lay-off
4.1 The Chancellor shall adopt a policy for Reduction-in-Force which provides the greatest amount of management flexibility consistent with fair and equitable treatment of USNH employees.
4.2 Incentive Separation Plans
4.2.1 The Board of Trustees delegates to the Chancellor the authority to establish policy and approve programs which will encourage faculty and staff voluntary separation from USNH including regular retirement, early retirement and termination. The goal of these programs shall be to provide sufficient predictability to enable and encourage succession and transition planning as well as to provide flexibility to encourage voluntary separations when programmatic and organizational needs make such termination desirable. Such authority includes the obligation to comply with the principles noted below.
4.2.2 All incentives offered must be within legal constraints.
4.2.3 Financial parameters shall require that plans do not include any new long-term liabilities (i.e. more than two years) and that plan offerings have a prudent funding mechanism. All funding plans shall be within previously approved overall budget guidelines. Any plan which utilizes a funding source not approved as part of the annual personnel or benefits operating budget shall require approval by the Financial Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees .
4.2.4 Compensation and plan design parameters shall include a requirement that plans have the approval of appropriate system officers, that the design features meet and continue to meet tax and benefit legal constraints, and that all plans be offered on a one-time, non-continuing basis. The intent of this provision is that incentive plans not be offered as benefit entitlement programs, but rather as institutionally discretionary separation incentives.
4.2.5 Delegation of authority to USNH component institutions shall include the authority for campus CEOs to determine if a program is offered, to whom it is offered, when it is offered, and which features of the plan will offer. This authority will be delegated within a set of overall financial and compensation design standards and principles including those noted above.
5. Employment of Trustees
5.1 No member of the Board of Trustees, other than the Chancellor, the Presidents and student trustees may receive compensation for services rendered to USNH or any of its components, related or affiliated entities except under the conditions set forth below.
5.2 Student members of the Board of Trustees may be compensated for services rendered to USNH or any of its component institutions, provided:
5.2.1 The total amount of compensation received in any one fiscal year does not exceed $10,000.
5.2.2 The fair market value of the services equals or exceeds the amount of compensation, and the quality of the service provided by the Trustee is equal to or in excess of that available by a bid or other open application process.
5.2.3 The proposed employment is in conformance with the Board of Trustees Bylaws Article VII regarding conflict of interest and does not involve the setting of reimbursement or compensation or the establishment of policy in any of those areas.
5.2.4 Any work product that is the result of such employment shall remain the property of the entity providing the compensation.