Staff Appreciation and Recognition Plan FY 2023-24 (STAR Award)

Date:    September 14, 2023

To:       Principal Officers, Managers/Supervisors and HR Liaisons

From:   Kamala Green, Associate Vice Chancellor & CHRO, Staff Human Resources

Re:       Staff Appreciation and Recognition Plan FY 2023-24 (STAR Award)

Each day, UC Santa Cruz staff bring their talent, commitment and unique perspectives to campus to support and engage students, faculty, researchers and other staff members. 

With the renewal of the Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) Plan for FY 2023-24, we can show our staff members how much we value them and recognize and reward them for their outstanding service to our campus. 

STAR Awards can be given for excellence in service, significant achievements and contributions, advancing UCSC’s Principles of Community and outstanding individual and team performance. The awards are discretionary cash awards paid by the department or division and do not increase the awardee’s base salary. The university does not place restrictions or conditions on an employee’s use of any cash awarded under this plan. 

STAR Plan Guidelines for administering the program, along with the STAR Plan Nomination Spreadsheet for submission of cash awards are available on the Staff Human Resources website, Staff Appreciation & Recognition Plan.

Divisions and departments may begin to process awards immediately. This process does vary by division, so please communicate with your supervisors/managers directly regarding the implementation of the STAR Plan.

We hope you will highlight the outstanding work of your team members by nominating them for individual or team STAR awards. Nominations may be submitted at any time during the 2023/2024 fiscal year prior to May 25, 2024, and will be processed on the next available payroll cycle.

If you have questions about the guidelines or processing of awards, please contact Staff HR Compensation at compensation@ucsc.edu.

In All Things…Excellence!