Human Resource Policies

The Human Resource (HR) Policies (also referred to as the “guide”) is prepared for all Hesston College employees. This guide provides an outline to policies our employees may encounter during their employment, to include some procedures that employees may find helpful throughout their tenure.

Hesston College uses terminology such as “staff” and “faculty” to describe its employees. For purposes of this guide, all faculty and staff are referred to as “employees.” The term Human Resources refers to the Human Resource Office, including the Director of HR. This guide will also use the term “president” to refer to the President of Hesston College, and “management” or “manager” to refer to anyone in a supervisory or management position. The Hesston College Board of Directors may be referred to as the “board.” The use of the word “our” or “we” is also a collective reference to Hesston College.

Revisions made to this guide may occur with authorization from the president and approval by the Hesston College Board of Directors. Unless specified in the policy, exceptions to the policies in this guide must be approved by the president.

It is important to note that the policies in this guide do not establish a contract of employment and can be changed from time to time. It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure understanding of the policies and procedures as well as any revisions.

Hesston College is an employment-at-will employer, which means that the college or the employee may terminate employment at any time, for any reason. Nothing in this employee handbook intends to, or creates an employment agreement, express or implied. Work Agreements or Memos of Understanding (MOUs) may be provided to employees to acknowledge the employment status, compensation and benefits provided to the employee, but these do not remove employment-at-will. The president or their authorized designee is the only person who has any authority to enter into any agreement for employment for any specific period, or to make any binding representations or agreements inconsistent with this manual. Work agreements and Memos of Understanding do not fall under this agreement category. Any salary figures provided to an employee in annual or monthly terms are stated for the sake of convenience or to facilitate comparisons, and are not intended and do not create an employment contract for any specific period of time.

Employees with questions about the policies and procedures in this guide are encouraged to first discuss them with their manager. Employees or managers may also come to Human Resources for clarification. Human Resources will work in partnership with managers to ensure that the relationship between Hesston College and its employees is respectful and consistently supportive of the overall mission of the college.

Special Note to Faculty: Faculty have specific policies and procedures included in the Faculty Handbook. In the event of a conflict between this guide and the Faculty Handbook, this guide will govern the response.

300: Benefits and Compensation

Hesston College believes that an attractive benefit program that is consistently administered enhances hiring and retention of quality staff. An appropriate benefit program is consistent with the institutional financial realities and endeavors to meet the needs of employer and employee.

Every employee under a regular Hesston College work agreement is either on a 9-month or 12-month structure. Benefits eligibility is largely the same between both work agreement types, but will vary with certain benefits (i.e. vacation). Each policy will specifically identify the FTE eligibility and when applicable the work agreement structure.