Several student employees in the IT services department have had their hours reinstated following what has been characterized as a “miscommunication,” according to Vice President of the Division of Information Technology Monique Sendze and Director of ITSS Amandeep Grewal. Some student employees were informed in individual meetings with their supervisor on Tuesday that any shifts beyond the next day were being cancelled and their employment would be terminated as of then, according to three student employees who were affected. These students spoke to The Orion on the condition of anonymity out of fear of negative repercussions.

“Supervisors have since connected individually with seven of the eight affected students to clarify options and confirm their schedules for the remainder of the semester, and we are working to connect with the last student as quickly as we can,” Sendze said in an email to The Orion.

The Orion received a tip Tuesday morning that multiple student employees in the IT department had their hours cut without previous warning. After reaching out to students, three of the affected employees expressed, on condition of anonymity, that their shifts had been cancelled and their employment effectively terminated. 

When The Orion sought confirmation and clarity, Interim Chief of Staff Ashley Gebb, along with officials in DoIT, said no hours were cut.

In the aftermath, Sendze expressed that there was a miscommunication and that this was part of ITSS standard operating procedure at the end of each semester. The three student employees that The Orion spoke with all expressed that they had not experienced anything resembling that standard procedure during multiple years of employment. 

In an email sent out Tuesday at 2:35 p.m. by Grewal to the ITSS student staff, Grewal clarified that DoIT is reviewing its budget and staffing needs for the remainder of the academic year, however “ … there is no immediate need to reduce student employee hours.” 

In an email to The Orion on Wednesday, Sendze shared “… once we became aware that some students had concerns about their work hours, we acted quickly to understand the situation and ensure that every student in good standing who wants to continue working is supported in doing so.”

Despite repeated questions to DoIT officials, they have yet to confirm whether the student supervisor, Kelli Trnka, effectively terminated the employment of multiple students – The Orion was provided direct evidence supporting student assertions that this occurred. 

It is still unclear how a miscommunication within the department led to the understanding among the student employees that their employment was being terminated. The Orion asked multiple times for clarification regarding this characterization, and it has not received a direct answer.  

One source expressed doubt that the meetings were a result of miscommunication and instead suggested that the department chose to walk back a deliberate decision based on the negative feedback received.

Despite repeated questions to DoIT officials, they have neglected to elaborate on how they will prevent miscommunications such as this from happening in the future.

In an email to The Orion Sendze said “… out of respect for both the students and employees involved, I won’t be sharing further details. We’ve addressed the miscommunication and consider the matter resolved.”

Chris Hutton and Sean Shanks can be reached at [email protected]