Glossary: Useful Acronyms, Words & Phrases
An Affiliate is commonly an unpaid volunteer, intern or visiting scholar, research collaborator or contractor that is engaged with UNC-Chapel Hill in support of the University’s mission of teaching, research, and public service. More broadly, an affiliate is anyone who is not paid through UNC-Chapel Hill payroll and is not attending UNC-Chapel Hill, but requires University resources to work in conjunction with a UNC-Chapel Hill school/division.
The University’s notification process for emergencies or urgent situations. Depending on the situation, alerts are provided by email, text message or sirens located around campus. You are strongly encouraged to sign up for text message alerts at alertcarolina.unc.edu.
The Academic Personnel Office, which oversees most human resources needs for EHRA faculty. APO is part of the Provost’s office.
Annual Raise Process, the procedure that distributes legislative increases to EHRA employees.
Career banding is the University’s classification and compensation system for SHRA employees.
The Chancellor is the chief administrator for the University. The Chancellor reports to the University’s Board of Trustees and to the President of the UNC System. The current chancellor at UNC-Chapel Hill is Kevin Guskiewicz.
The University’s system of record for student, finance and human resources information. ConnectCarolina also offers self-service functions for viewing your paystub, training registration, benefits enrollment and more
The Daily Tar Heel, the University’s student-run newspaper, published every weekday during the fall and spring semesters and weekly during summer sessions.
The University’s Employee Assistance Program, managed by ComPsych. The EAP is available to you and your dependents, along with any residents living in your house, to provide mental health support, legal and financial resources.
An Employee Competency Assessment for SHRA employees, which is how your supervisor evaluates your demonstrated competencies against the required competencies of your position. This is done in conjunction with the SHRA performance management process each spring.
The Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office at the University provides leadership and guidance in support of the University’s commitment to equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity. The EEO Office is separate from the Office of Human Resources, but the two organizations work closely together to promote equity and fairness for employees.
The University’s Environment, Health and Safety department, responsible for oversight of safety issues at the University, including safety training for all employees.
Employees who are Exempt from the (State) Human Resources Act. These employees are members of one (or both) of the following groups: EHRA Faculty (professors, assistant professors, etc.) and EHRA Non-Faculty (including Senior Academic and Administrative Officers, research, and instructional employees). Learn more about EHRA appointments.
The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that governs the way SHRA employees are paid for work – either on an hourly or salaried basis. The FLSA divides positions into two groups – those that are exempt from the act (salaried, do not earn overtime), and those that are non-exempt (hourly paid, earn overtime if worked).
The Family & Medical Leave Act, a federal law that provides 12 work weeks of unpaid leave in any 12-month period for an eligible employee to use for their own serious health condition, the serious health condition of a family member, or the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Liaisons between individual departments, schools or divisions and the Office of Human Resources. Along with supervisors, HR representatives are generally one of the first stops for employees with questions about HR issues. Find your HR Officer here.
The University’s Information Technology Services department, responsible for computer and network operations.
Legislative Increase, a salary increase that may be granted by the NC General Assembly to all state employees. In years where an LSI is granted, it typically is effective on July 1, the beginning of the state’s new fiscal year.
NCFlex is a group of state-provided benefits for all employees, including dental, vision, cancer and critical illness insurance and flexible spending accounts, among other benefits.
A designation for EHRA employees who are not members of the faculty. The term “non-faculty” is also occasionally used as a collective term referencing all employees who are not faculty, including SHRA (staff) employees and EHRA non-faculty employees.
The University’s Office of Human Resources, the central Human Resources organization for non-faculty employees for UNC-Chapel Hill. OHR is the Office responsible for hosting the Welcome to Carolina Blue New Employee Orientation program and website.
A confidential, impartial, informal and independent resource for Carolina staff, faculty and students to talk in confidence about any campus issue, concern, problem or dispute. The Ombuds office supplements, but does not replace, the University’s formal channels.
The official University identification card, which may also be used for building access and purchases at University dining operations. Learn more about getting your One Card.
Only Name You’ll Ever Need, or your computer identification at the University. You will use it to gain access to various electronic resources on campus. For security reasons, your Onyen password must be changed every 90 days.
The University System’s Optional Retirement Program, available to eligible University employees. This is a defined contribution plan, so payouts at retirement are based on the performance of investments you choose.
The Office of State Human Resources, an agency that oversees personnel policies and programs for SHRA employees throughout the state. The Office of Human Resources at the University is granted authority by OSHR to administer these policies.
Person ID, a nine-digit number given to each employee when they are hired and each student when they begin their Carolina career. This is your individual identification number and is used wherever possible instead of your Social Security number.
The Provost is the chief academic officer of the University and is responsible for all academic programs, schools, centers and institutes. The Provost reports to the Chancellor.
“Paid Time Off,” a collective term that includes vacation and sick leave, as well as holidays. Learn more about taking time off.
The State Health Plan, the state-provided health insurance for eligible state and University employees.
Employees who are Subject to the Human Resources Act, commonly known as “staff” employees. Learn more about SHRA appointments.
The Well is Carolina’s news and information source for faculty and staff. Employees can read the day’s top stories, learn more about projects in schools, units and departments, and see how Carolina’s employees work to uphold the University mission of research, teaching and service. The site also features In the Know, important pieces of information employees need to know each day, such as road closures, benefits enrollment deadlines or weather-related issues. Employees will also receive an email news digest called From The Well.
Time Information Management, the University’s electronic work time and leave use recordkeeping system. SHRA non-exempt (hourly paid) employees use TIM to track both time and leave; SHRA exempt (salaried) and EHRA employees are required to track only their leave in TIM.
The Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, the state’s defined benefit retirement system open to eligible State employees. Payouts at retirement are based on years of service, your average final compensation and a set formula.
The shorter term referencing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the 17 constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina system.
The 16 state universities in North Carolina, as well as the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. UNC General Administration (GA) provides administrative governance for the system, with the oversight of the UNC Board of Governors (BOG).