UUP Cortland Chapter

In 2025-26, UUP will be engaging in a round of Individual Development Award grants through our UUP/Jt. Labor Management IDA Program.

 All SUNY Cortland UUP Represented Faculty and Professional Staff (full and part-time) are eligible.

 Applications Accepted from January 5 – February 13, 2026

The State of NY/United University Professions Joint Labor-Management Committees allocated funding to SUNY Cortland for the Individual Development Awards (IDA) Program for the following period:

July 2, 2025 through July 1, 2026          —               $$42,195.17

 -Employees may request an award for up to two projects or activities within the time period, with a maximum total award of $2,000 per employee.

 ELIGIBLE PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES:

IDA funds are intended to assist eligible employees in developing their full professional potential by enhancing teaching, research, improving professional knowledge and skills, and in preparing for advancement by reimbursing the following:

• Registration fees for conferences or workshops.
• Professional organization membership fees which are bundled with a free or reduced members-only rate for conference or workshop attendance expenses.
• Travel and related expenses (including lodging and meals (breakfast and dinner)).
• Tuition at the maximum allowable SUNY rate at the time of application, excluding associated fees.
• Fees for licensing or certification exam prep courses (e.g., USMLE Step 3 exam, medical board exam, or bar exam prep course, etc.). For reimbursement of exam fees, go to https://oer.ny.gov/nysuupclefr
• Fees for continuing education courses (e.g., CME or CLE courses).
• Entrance or access fees to institutions or archives that house materials which are related to, and the review or use of which is necessary, to complete the research or artistic endeavor.

Funds are also available for expenses related to professional development projects or activities that are not provided by the employee’s campus, department, program, or through other funding sources, including research materials, short term use of specialized equipment, services for skills, and costs associated with publication as follows (see attached guidelines for more specific requirements for these categories, as they may require supervisor approval and multiple bids or justifications):

• Consumable artistic or research materials, which are necessary to complete the research or artistic endeavor (e.g., reagents, antibodies, dyes, art supplies, sheet music).
• Fees for short term use of specialized equipment or skills (e.g., sound mixing/engineering, recording studio fees, videorecording and editing fees, performance space rentals, real time PCR testing, RNA sequencing).
• Costs associated with publication (e.g., copyright or licensure fees, journal page charges, and stipends or fees for indexers, proof reading, translations).

Guidelines

• All expenses must be incurred during the time period above. (If some activity dates are outside the period, only the portion within the time period can be funded.)
• Up to two eligible activities may be funded. Both activities may be placed on one application.
• Part-time employees are particularly encouraged to apply.
• The Cortland PDC may request additional information from any applicant as a condition for funding.

  Application materials are attached and should be emailed to united.universityprofessions@cortland.edu and daniel.harms@cortland.edu, subject line IDA Application

• All attachment file names should begin with applicant’s last name
• Signatures from department chairs are NOT necessary for conference travel

Deadline: 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2026.

The Cortland PDC will review applications no later than March 15, 2026. Award notification will occur as soon as UUP is notified by the Office of Employee Relations. Requests for reimbursements must be filed by July 31, 2026.

For more information about the program, contact UUP Office, (607) 753-5991 or united.universityprofessions@cortland.edu. 

In Solidarity,

Justin Neretich
UUP Cortland Chapter President

IDA program guidelines

IDA Program Application

STATEWIDE UPCOMING EVENTS

We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 13, 2026 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM via Zoom
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

To attend one of the virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics, you must pre-register here: http://go.aft.org/StudentDebtClinicRSVP. From the “student debt clinic” drop down menu, please select the UUP clinic that you are interested in attending – they are labeled “UUP [Virtual Student Debt Clinic] [date] [time].” In the affiliate field, type in the full name of our local (United University Professions), and it will autofill after a few keystrokes.

Registration is first-come, first-serve, and we must cap attendance for a single clinic at 125 participants to ensure that we are able to provide maximum assistance to attendees. Registration will close 48 hours prior to the virtual clinic.

 UUP 101 – Who is UUP?

 Webinars will now be held on:

Wednesday, January 7 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Wednesday, February 18 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

To join the discussion, please register using the link below.

https://forms.gle/tEUUdHReuwn6QpME9

Monday, December 15, 2025
3-4 PM, Miller 405

Present:

Items of Collegiality

1. As the end of Fall semester approaches, a sincere thank you to everyone and a happy winter holiday season and new year.

Old Business

1. Questions UUP has based on CTE feedback received:
   1. Will alternative forms of evaluation be equally accepted this semester in cases where CTEs orders were not successful?
   2. Why is the window for changes the way it is? Is there a way it can be opened for longer? Why/why not?
   3. How are helpdesk tickets for CTEs that were ordered but not delivered being handled?
   4. What are the plans to ensure proper messaging in the future?

New Business

1. UUP is seeking to have the full required terms of part-time appointment letters included in each letter per the UUP agreement. Collective Bargaining Agreement section 30.3a, b, and c.
   1. UUP is willing to work with management to identify an appropriate compromise regarding notification of health insurance eligibility for part-time employees.
2. UUP requests management describe the process by which DSI dollars were distributed
   1. Can you share any additional steps you have taken to address salary compression on campus?
   2. Were all unit employees assessed for salary equity adjustments, or were any categories of employees excluded?

Upcoming Business

1. We look forward to reflecting on the CTE rollout via Anthology.
2. UUP engaged in campus level negotiations from 2017 to 2019. UUP is ready to resume locally discussing a campus pet policy.

*****Public Loan Forgiveness Clinics*****
We will be offering virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics on the following dates:

Wednesday, December 3, 2025 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM via Zoom

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM via Zoom

To attend one of the virtual Members Only Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Clinics, you must pre-register here: http://go.aft.org/StudentDebtClinicRSVP. From the “student debt clinic” drop down menu, please select the UUP clinic that you are interested in attending – they are labeled “UUP [Virtual Student Debt Clinic] [date] [time].” In the affiliate field, type in the full name of our local (United University Professions), and it will autofill after a few keystrokes. 

Registration is first-come, first-serve, and we must cap attendance for a single clinic at 125 participants to ensure that we are able to provide maximum assistance to attendees. Registration will close 48 hours prior to the virtual clinic.  

***** Support SUNY ESF*****

Colleagues and Allies: Now is the time to raise your voice in support of SUNY ESF. Please share widely. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/gov-hochul-invest-in-the-future-of-suny-esf

*****UUP 101 Webinar*****

We have added an additional “UUP 101” webinar for those who have been unable to attend previous workshops. This workshop will cover UUP’s structure, who we are, who we represent, what we do, and our role in the larger labor movement.

Webinars will now be held on:

                               Wednesday, December 10 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM                             
Wednesday, January 7 from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

To join the discussion, please register using the link below.

https://forms.gle/tEUUdHReuwn6QpME9

United University Professions Cortland
Labor/Management Agenda

Monday, November 17, 2025

 1:30-2:30 PM, Miller 405

Present:

Items of Collegiality

1. UUP Cortland is proud to serve as a sponsor of the Men’s Ice Hockey AFSP charity hockey game and looks for opportunities to support our other collegiate sports charity events. Appreciation to Coach Cardarelli and UUP Grievance Officer Jaclyn Pittsley for their support of this event.

Old Business

1. Status of the Course Teacher Evaluation MOU (Box Agreement).

New Business

1. Status of Course Teacher Evaluations through Anthology rollout

2. Fall 2025 Enrollment for SUNY Cortland
   1. UUP Cortland requests a summary of our Fall enrollment data

3. UUP requests an update on the status of the RFP for a consultant related to academic portfolio review

4. What is the share of burden for financial hardship for SUNY Cortland, and how will the burden of financial hardship be shared across the University?