Salary indexation, admission campaign, sabbatical: Results of the first meeting of the Academic Council in the new academic year

The agenda included 11 issues: the results of the admission campaign, approval of the work plan of the Academic Council for the 2023/2024 academic year, approval of the regulations on the procedure and conditions for granting a sabbatical to Altai State University teaching staff for up to one year, and others.

The meeting began with a ceremonial part: teachers and staff of Altai State University were presented with gratitude for many years of conscientious work and great personal contribution to the development of education in Altai Krai. The Governor of Altai Krai awarded letters of gratitude to A. N. Malakhanov, letters of gratitude from the Altai Regional Legislative Assembly to M. A. Volikov and E. G. Stepanishcheva, Certificates of Honor from the Barnaul city administration to A. A. Baykin and V. A. Grishin, and letters of gratitude from the Barnaul city administration to Yu. V. Terentyev. Certificates of honor from the administration of the Central District of Barnaul were received by Yu. I. Zlobina, M. V. Skaptsov, gratitude from the administration of the Central District of Barnaul was awarded to S. D. Mamenov. Certificates of honor from Altai State University were awarded to E.E. Korshunova and L.S. Chernykh.

Admission campaign

Next, the Council members moved on to the agenda. Sergey Bocharov, Rector of Altai State University, and E. G. Romanova, executive secretary of the Admission Committee presented the results of the admittion campaign for 2023 and summed up the interim results. The admission campaign itself will last until the end of October, so applicants have the opportunity to enroll in part-time and mixed attendance studies at the Altai State University master's program. The Rector made a report:

– Each admission campaign has its own features, and 2023 was no exception. The admission rules, deadlines and, accordingly, the applicant base have changed. Due to the fact that schoolchildren performed less successful in mathematics, physics and social studies, competition between universities for applicants has increased, especially in technical areas. Altai State University actually enrolled students in one wave. This result is not accidental and was made possible thanks to a lot of preparatory work. V.N. Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, summing up the interim results, noted that universities that are actively involved in career guidance work have reached their targets. We have more than 20 people officially involved in career guidance work, not counting student volunteers. More than 130 people were involved in preparing for the start of the admission campaign. The university paid great attention to promoting the admission campaign; our anniversary was a good help, thanks to which, before the start of the campaign, the university became the main newsmaker in the region. However, in addition to this, targeted work was built to promote key blocks. The first block is promotion through Internet resources and social networks. More than 8.5 thousand posts were published during this period. The second block is a huge design work on the production and placement of banners, the creation and replication of printed materials. We worked with both domestic applicants and foreign citizens. All this together led to the fact that the university became recognizable, applicants were motivated to purposefully apply to Altai State University. Traditionally, work was carried out on the visual design of the spaces of the admission office, thus we created the image of the university. A bright atmosphere in youth colors favorably distinguished the workplaces of our executive secretaries from the admission committees of other regions. A lot of work was done with traditional media. For wider coverage, work was established with all regional news agencies. More than 70 publications were posted. Taken together, the amount of work done on Internet networks and in the media demonstrates the number of views of our materials. Our posts, articles and materials have received more than 12 million views. More than 80 subject Olympiads were held, which made it possible to attract a large number of winners and prize-winners. Now about the places you need to pay attention to in the future. It was not possible to maintain the average USE score – the general trend across the country associated with not very high USE results in schools led to a decrease in the level everywhere. We need to build our work with schools in a new way, focusing attention not only on teaching. It is necessary to create spaces at the university sites to work with schoolchildren throughout the year, so that they receive training in subjects, immerse themselves in the university ecosystem and associate themselves with Altai State University. It is also worth paying more attention to working with foreign students and vocational education students. As for the target recruitment, despite the improvement in indicators in the current admission campaign, we need to improve our work with enterprises, we need to involve industrial partners in the creation of appropriate programs and in career guidance work, which will increase the quality and demand for programs and the applicant’s interest in guaranteed employment.

E. G. Romanova, executive secretary of the selection committee, reported on the quantitative results:

– This year, a large proportion of applicants chose the super service on the State Services portal. According to interim results, almost 12,000 applications were submitted for bachelor’s and specialty programs through the State Services portal. This allows us to expand the geography of applicants. This year you can conclude a training contract through State Services. The total number of applicants for higher education programs has increased. Over the past three years, there has been a positive trend and an increase in the number of applications. In total, this year residents of 49 regions of the Russian Federation submitted documents, among the leaders are the Altai Republic, Kemerovo Region, Novosibirsk Region, Tyva Republic and Krasnoyarsk Territory. 393 people from other regions were enrolled in bachelor’s and specialist degrees, 94 were enrolled in master’s programs, and 9 people in graduate school were enrolled in budget-funded places; statistics for paid places may change.

Sabbatical

The report was made by E. P. Borovkova, head of the Legal Department of Altai State University. She spoke about the procedure and conditions for granting teaching staff of Altai State University a sabbaticl for a period of more than one year.

– Categories of methodological workers have been determined when filling the positions of those who are granted long leave. The period of inclusion in the experience of continuous teaching work, which gives the right to the specified leave, has been determined. It is indicated that leave is granted on an application basis; an application from the employee is required. It is submitted from January 1 to February 1 of the academic year preceding the one in which the applicant wishes to exercise his right to leave. The period for consideration of the application is no more than two months from the date of submission. Leave can be granted for a period of no less than six months and no more than twelve; it cannot be used in parts and cannot be transferred to other periods. An application for leave is considered by the Academic Council or the council of the Department at the place of work.

Priority will be given to the employee who has the greatest scientific and pedagogical work experience at the university. If this indicator is equal, then the greater continuous length of service in general, and if this indicator is equal, then the longest length of service is considered. During the vacation period, the teaching staff retains the volume of their workload and their place of work. We have included a provision for long-term leave in the collective agreement. Federal legislation does not specify payment for this leave. The trade union committee insisted that this leave should be paid; the regulations established the amount of 3,000 rubles per month. Following the discussion, the Academic Council adopted this project, but with subsequent refinement.

Annual indexation

The university has adopted a roadmap for a gradual increase in remuneration for teaching staff. Starting from October 1, we are indexing. First of all, we are making changes to the salaries of employees in accordance with their categories and professional groups. Indexation is carried out in accordance with the standards laid down in the federal budget in the amount of 5.5%. In addition, as salaries change, hourly wages also change. Also, these changes will concern not only official salaries, but also remuneration in general. Indexation is not only changes in the mandatory part, but also in the entire salary, including incentive payments. Therefore, all incentive payments that the employee had as of September 30 will also be indexed. The point of indexation is to increase overall wages.

Personalized scholarships

The First Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of Altai State University E. A. Zhdanova made a report. She noted that the number of personalized scholarships increases every year. The level of students who are the most successful in terms of education and science is increasing. This academic year, 16 students were awarded scholarships.