UArts Union Resources for Faculty & Staff on the Closure of University of the Arts

United Academics of Philadelphia, AFT Local 9608

REFRESH OFTEN for Updates! Last Updated: 10.10.2024 3:45pm

Link to share this doc: www.tinyurl.com/uartsunionresources

UAP Relief Fund

  • Anyone can donate to this crowdfunder and the proceeds will be sent directly to the UAP Solidarity Fund.
  • APPLY for Solidarity Funds! ALL UArts Union Faculty & Staff can apply for relief funds. Apply here!

Public Events & Actions

UArts Documentary Project

Sign up to participate in the UArts Documentary - deadline Oct 15 2024
https://www.recklesseducationfilm.com/casting

UArts TIAA Retirement Plan Update October 2024

The bankruptcy process initiated by the UArts board in September includes the termination of UArts TIAA retirement plans which seems to be in process. Retirement assets in the retirement plans can NOT be used to pay any creditors listed in the bankruptcy. Your retirement assets will remain in your possession.

Here is what we know about the current state of the UArts TIAA plan:

  • As of October 3rd 2024, a temporary hold has been placed on distributions from the TIAA plan.
  • This hold should be lifted in 4-6 weeks (mid-November 2024) when the termination process is complete.
  • Plan participants can still make internal transfers within their TIAA accounts at this time.
  • Once the Plan Termination has been filed, TIAA will receive documentation and the hold will be lifted. The plan will then show a status of ‘terminated’ and participants can choose to:
  1. Take a Distribution
  2. Roll the assets over to a different plan or IRA
  3. Do nothing and the assets will remain in place
  • For more information please contact TIAA directly: 800-842-2252
  • Questions regarding the plan termination or the distribution hold can also be directed to Dana Roach, the bankruptcy accountant working with the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee to wind down the 403(b) plan, at 856-767-3000 x129.

UAP Healthcare Workshops

UArts health insurance plans ended August 31st. COBRA is available effective September 1st.

UAP is offering workshops on applying for emergency Medicaid & SNAP, and Healthcare marketplace options. Open to all Philly-area Higher Ed faculty & staff. See more info and sign up here.

JOB BOARDS for UArts Faculty & Staff

UAP Job Board - Anyone can add & view job openings.

  • Regional focus, includes some positions that are not publicly available.

Higher Ed Employment Opportunities - Links to University HR pages that list open positions.

  • Compiled by Frankyn Cantor, UArts Chief of Staff. Lists only publicly–posted positions.

Free 1:1 Career Advising session for UArts employees

Network of Music Career Development Officers has compiled a list of career advisors who are offering free sessions! There are a wide range of arts careers & disciplines represented, not just for musicians. Thanks to UArts Career Services Director Elisa Seeherman for sharing this! Please email unitedacademicsphilly@gmail.com to request the list.

Unemployment Workshops

We are offering monthly Unemployment Workshops on zoom. Adjunct faculty CAN get unemployment benefits! The content is mostly geared towards helping Adjuncts succeed at getting Unemployment benefits, but we will address general topics related to applying for Unemployment, and anyone impacted by the closure is welcome to attend. See more info and sign up here

UAP phone to enter on the Unemployment application: 302-319-4207

UAP / AFT Union Membership

Because UArts Faculty & Staff had not yet begun to pay dues, we are not able to get you access to AFT National Member Benefits as union members. We now encourage UArts bargaining unit members to consider joining UAP as a Non-Collective-Bargaining Member which will get you a union card from AFT and access to AFT Member Benefits. Dues are a flat $12/month. Learn more and sign a card here

UAP Statements

9.13.2024 UAP Statement on UArts Bankruptcy Filing

9.11.2024 UAP Statement on $63mil UArts Endowment Transfer Request

8.29.2024 UAP Statement on Temple-UArts Merger Collapse, UArts Bond Status

7.17.2024 UAP Statement on Initial WARN Hearing

7.15.2024 UAP Statement on New ULP Charges and July 17 WARN Hearing

6.20.2024 Statement on June 20 Impact Negotiations with UArts Admin

6.6.2024 Media Advisory re: Rally with AFT President Randi Weingarten

6.5.2024 Statement on Member Lawsuit, ULP, Temple Merger Rumors

6.4.2024 Statement on President Kerry Walk resignation

6.3.2024 Statement on UArts Town Hall Cancellation

All Press Coverage

ONGOING Timeline - compiled by faculty member Jaime Alvarez

Class Action Lawsuit

  • Union members and supporters have filed a suit with UArts alum Ryan Hancock of Willig, Williams and Davidson on behalf of ALL UArts employees. This suit was consolidated with a similar suit filed by Eric Lechtzin of Edelson Lechtzin LLP, who is co-lead counsel of the combined lawsuit.
  • A Preliminary Hearing for the combined suit occurred on July 17, 2024 and allowed both sides to present their intentions with the case. This was open to the public and was attended by over 25 UArts faculty, staff, students and alumni.
  • The second Conference with the judge for this suit took place on August 27, this meeting was not open to the public.
  • UArts Students are in touch with Philadelphia lawyers regarding their own class-action lawsuit.

Impact Negotiations for Bargaining-Unit UArts Faculty & Staff

  • UArts lawyer Kris Derewicz and HR AVP Caroline Tate met with our Union for Impact Negotiations on June 20th - and provided NO information, and were not prepared to negotiate on any terms of severance or benefits.
  • In addition to provisions that are in the Faculty Contract (see Layoff & Recall on pg 50) the University is legally obligated to to negotiate on the impact of closure for all Faculty and Staff in a bargaining unit, regardless of union membership status. This may include severance payments and extension of benefits.
  • Impact Bargaining was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday June 4th but was canceled by the University. On June 5th we filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge against UArts with the National Labor Relations Board for failure to negotiate. On July 16th we updated our original charge and filed two new ULP charges.

State & Local Government Response

  • August 8th: Philadelphia City Council held a Hearing into the UArts Closure
  • July 17th: the PA Attorney General’s office confirmed for Inquirer reporter Kristen Graham that an AG investigation is underway.
  • June 17th: Rep Ben Waxman led a PA House Policy Committee hearing on the UArts closure. The full recording can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/yod8frn5T5o?si=TZrDxnpJe0gcFeZx
  • Since May 31, State & City elected leaders have begun investigating the closure. Media reports say that the PA Attorney General, PA House of Representatives, and Philadelphia City Council are planning preliminary investigations.

Legal Hold Notice

Some, but not all, current and former UArts employees received a Legal Hold Notice regarding data on your UArts accounts and/or laptop. Your cooperation on this will be important for the class-action lawsuit. If you have specific questions regarding this Notice, contact HR Director Caroline Tate at catate@uarts.edu

UArts Layoff Information

Terminated Employees Notice 6.7.24 6:03pm, from Alvarez & Marsal, consultants

Closure Details for Employees 6.7.24 10:47am, from Alvarez & Marsal, consultants

  • Alvarez & Marsal held a layoff notice meeting on 6.7.24, announced in the 10:47am email linked above. The meeting started at 12:30 pm and ended at 12:41pm.
  • Information not referenced in the links above provided in the 6.7.24 meeting:
  • All remaining FSA account balances must be spent immediately. we do not know if FSA balances are still available. Please contact us if you have tried to use FSA balance after June 7th.
  • Emails tied to ADP in the UArts portal should be changed to your personal email. Go to https://workforcenow.adp.com/.  To update your personal email address/communication preferences, click your initials in the top right corner of the homepage, then click  Preferences. A new screen will appear from the right, click the  Communication  tab to view your current settings. Enter your personal email address in the Personal section and click the circle next to For Notifications and then click Save. If you still do not see your personal address listed, please log out and log back in. If you have trouble, email mjanis@uarts.edu 
  • Retirement accounts should be managed via TIAA and remain the property of the account holder (that’s you, not UArts)
  • UArts will work to verify employment for any new employers, but members should reach out to individual managers for letters of recommendation if needed
  • All pending expense forms and vendor requests should be submitted ASAP
  • Full-time faculty & staff salaries for 9-10 month contracts will be paid out as usual, with paychecks in June, July, and August.

What we know about the Closure

  • UArts lost Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accreditation during the week of May 27th because UArts President Kerry Walk announced to MSCHE that UArts was planning an imminent closure for unspecified financial problems, and therefore the school was not in compliance with required protocols for closing an institution. Read the full statement from Middle States/MSCHE here.
  • On June 21st, the Inquirer reported that MSCHE is extending UArts accreditation to July 19th to allow for final grades and diplomas to be processed.
  • Details about the financial problems are scarce: The University seems to have mismanaged itself to the point they were $10M off on their budgeting for the last fiscal year. They planned on a $2M loss and ended up with a $12M loss.
  • Multiple academic buildings are mortgaged to secure $40M in debt, and we have learned that the one major academic building that isn't, Terra Hall, has a multimillion-dollar structural issue.
  • This was a colossal case of neglectful financial mismanagement. The University may have other legitimate and self-inflicted financial issues that prevent any ongoing operations, independent of the accreditation status.

Payroll

We have received the following assurances from UArts HR:

FT employees on 9 or 10 month contracts will be paid out for work done as usual in June, July and August. For FT employees, TIAA will continue to be taken out and matched through the August pay.

All PTO will be paid out - for those separated between July 1- July 21, PTO payout should have been in the July 25 paycheck.

Summer Course Cancellations

Faculty who were scheduled to teach credit-bearing summer classes that were canceled with less than one week notice, will get paid at least $600 course cancellation payment as per the faculty contract. This does not apply to Pre-College courses.

Student Loan Repayment

If you have student loans you are paying on, and your income is decreased by the UArts closure, you should recertify your Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan immediately:

https://studentaid.gov/idr/

You can also contact PHEAA and request to go into Deferment as a Dislocated Worker.

Mortgage Forbearance & Assistance

You may want to look into options to postpone mortgage payments due to unemployment. More information on this is here.Financial support for homeowners can be found here: https://pahaf.org

Dues-paying AFT union members can find Mortgage relief support on AFT Member Benefits

Advice for International Faculty & Students

Full Information for Faculty & Students on F1 or J1 Visas can be found here.

Thank you to the AFT Legal department!

Supporting our Students

UArts Students are compiling their own list of resources - you can find it here.

Student-led Protests

To follow student-led actions, check this Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/vots.uarts

Ordering UArts Transcripts

UArts Alumni and current students can order transcripts here: getmytranscript.com

Requesting UArts Personnel Files

We suggest that faculty & staff contact HR Director Caroline Tate to request a copy of your personnel files if desired. Email: catate@uarts.edu. You can also cc the UAP email when you send this request: unitedacademicsphilly@gmail.com. We will negotiate to get everyone access to their files!

Accessing UArts Buildings

Until June 7th UArts buildings were open on the regular summer schedule accessible with UArts ID with a summer sticker. Go to Hamilton Hall and ask to go to the HR Office to get a summer sticker. You can also ask a Program Director or Dean who is on campus to sign you in. We will be raising access to buildings in impact negotiations. On 6.7.24 UArts shared this info: We will have a process for retrieving personal items from offices and studios. More information about how and when to gain access to campus will be shared soon.

Saving your Data & UArts Emails

UArts email & google drive was shut down for all separated employees on Friday July 19, 2024

Staff still employed by the University can still be reached at their UArts emails, including HR Director Caroline Tate: catate@uarts.edu

How to download your Google Data

Consider Google Takeout, which will allow you to select and download all your UArts Google Account data in one place (make sure you use this via your UArts Account rather than a personal Google account; check which one you’ve used to sign in by looking at the icon on the top right corner of the page

Clearing UArts Laptops

If you are keeping a UArts-issued laptop, you will want to remove tracking software installed on the device. OTIS Staff have now removed every Mac laptop from UArts device management. The UArts profiles should be removed automatically, but the best next step is to entirely erase the device. We recommend that you backup your files and erase your laptop in order to remove all traces of the University management tools.  Instructions can be found here for Apple Silicon computers (M1, M2, etc) and here for Intel computers.

PC laptops will be getting removed from UArts device management later this week. Please be patient as OTIS Staff work to shut down an entire University’s worth of machines and networks!

Downloading Course Evaluations

Here are instructions on exporting your Course Evaluations, thank you staff member Rose Savoia!

How to download your Canvas courses

(Thank you Faculty member Brad Guigar!)

• In the main Canvas dashboard, navigate to your Courses (the book icon)

• Click All Courses at the top

• Scroll down to the Past Enrollments section

• Click on the course you'd like to save (be sure to save the most recent version — Spring 2024, for example) 

• Click the course you'd like to save

• Scroll down to Settings in the lefthand column, and click on it

• In the righthand column, click Export Course Content 

• Select Export Type: Course 

• This will initiate a process that gathers all of your course materials and packages them into a compressed -IMSCC file. You'll get an email when it is ready to be downloaded

• Download this file and back it up If your next position uses course software based on Common Cartridge, you can upload it, and you won't have to recreate all of the materials you've been using at UArts. Common Cartridge is used in Canvas, as well as Moodle, Blackboard and Schoolology. To do this in Canvas, navigate to your blank course and open it...

• Click on Import Existing Content in the righthand menu

• Navigate to that IMSCC file you saved.

• Upload it

• Presto, you have all of your saved course materials.

Fun Fact: This IMSCC files is actually just a ZIP file. That means, on a Mac, you can change .imscc to .zip and — after you confirm the change with your Mac — double-click it and get all of your files in their original formats — PDFs, mp3s... everything you uploaded to Canvas is there. Don't get freaked out by all those .xml files like I did. Scroll aaaaalllll the way down to a folder called Web Resources and you'll see the good stuff — Lecture Notes, Uploaded Media, Course Images, etc.