News and Announcements

December 2021

Over the past year, the college’s ability to implement initiatives related to being an employer of choice has been challenged by declining enrollment revenue and unanticipated costs associated with the pandemic.  However, our commitment to maintaining competitive salaries and benefits for faculty and staff remains unchanged.  While the recently approved FY22 budget does not include an annual increment, we are reinstating the retirement contribution match at 5% effective July 1, 2021 for those employees with elective deferral contributions of at least 5%. The match is made on a per pay period basis.  If you do not contribute in the pay period, there is no match in that pay period. There is no annual true-up provision.  The college remains committed to doing everything we can to increase the match over the next two to three budget cycles.  While our overall salaries remain market competitive, annual increments are also deemed critical to include in future budget cycles.

In the meantime, the college is working to ensure all employees are receiving the maximum benefits possible from their retirement investment opportunities.  This includes rolling out auto-enrollment and auto-escalation for elective deferral contributions to ensure that all who are eligible can take advantage of these important saving tools.  In addition, the college is exploring the addition of target date funds to provide expanded options for employees to ensure their investments are growing as much as possible over time.

While current fiscal restraints limit our options in the short-term, the college continues to explore ways to reward and recognize the valuable contributions of our employees, including Summer Restoration Fridays, ongoing flexible work schedules where possible, and opportunities for professional development and career growth.  We’re so grateful to the dedicated employees of Ithaca College who have maintained their commitment and service during this difficult time.

Earlier this month, New York State Department of Labor announced that it has identified over 425,000 fraudulent unemployment benefit claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As we are seeing an increase in fraudulent claims during this time, we want to inform employees what they can do if an unemployment claim has been submitted using their information.

• Complete the following online form with New York State’s Department of Labor: https://labor.ny.gov/secure/fraud/report-fraud.shtm  
• Review the Federal Trade Commission website (https://www.ftc.gov) and investigate possibilities of identity theft
• If you receive a debit card in the mail from the Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance Division, please destroy this card and keep any other notices as a record
• Immediately contact the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit records
  • Equifax
  • Experian
  • Transunion

If you are the victim of identity theft related to fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, you should also report the fraud to:

• Bank and credit card companies
• Law enforcement
• The FBI encourages victims to report fraudulent or any suspicious activities to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

You may also consult identitytheft.gov for help in reporting and recovering from identity theft.