Hartland Institute
of
Health and Education
Staff Policy
and
Information Manual
December 2014
444 Hartland Oak Drive, Rapidan, VA 22733
540-672-3100 Automated #: 540-672-1996 Fax: 540-672-3107
hartland.edu
Hartland Institute of Health and Education
Staff Policy and Information Manual
Table of Contents
1
Introductionpg.
Philosophy of Hartland Institute3
Operating Philosophy & Processes4–5
Hartland College5
Hartland Lifestyle Education Center6
Hartland Publications6
General Policies7
Appendix38
Topics Section numbers
Main topics are in bold
Sub-topics are in regular type
Abandoned Vehicles312
Absence Notification100
Administrative Committee185
Animals105
Appreciation Gift289
Benefits—see Stipend & Benefits289
Bereavement Leave212
Bicycles114
Board of Directors185
Bulletin Boards 118
Cafeteria 120
Cafeteria Hours120
Catering120
Cemetery 122
Chapels223
Chaperones 123
Child Labor Laws124
Classification of Staff283
College Benefits289
College Classes142
College Committees185
Constituency Membership & Meetings 185
Construction Materials221
Consultants/Contract Workers126
Copy Machine 127
Cosmetics–see Dress137
Courtship 128
Dental222
Dependents289
Discipline133
Dress, Cosmetics,and Adornment137
Education142
Educational Leave212
Elementary & Secondary School142
Elementary School Benefits289
Email Addresses 145
Employment146
Entertainment 147
Expenses, Out-of-Pocket222
Family Unit 150
Firearms153
Fires 154
Fire Season 155
Fiscal Year 156
Fishing 157
Furniture & Fixtures 159
Garbage/Dumpsters 160
Gardens 161
GED Tests142
General Policies185
Grievance Procedure 167
Guest Housing177
Hartland Lifestyle Education Center185
Hartland Publications185
Hazardous Training Activities124
Holidays 176
Home Entertainment147
Home Improvement177
Home School Benefits289
Home Schooling142
Hourly Staff283
Housing177
Housing Committee177
Injuries 184
Institute Vehicles312
Institutional Organization & Divisions185
Insurance186
Jewelry—see Dress137
Jury Duty Leave212
Key Position Staffing200
Keys 202
Laundry Facilities 206
Leaves212
Leaveof Absence212
Licensing214
Long Term Guests177
Long Term Illness or Disability212
Mail & Packaging Services220
Maintenance & Repairs221
Meal Charges120
Meal Tickets120
Medical Assistance222
Medical Insurance Eligibility222
Meetings223
Moving Expenses240
Non-Hazardous Training Activities 124
Non-SDA Staff283
Non-Stipend Full-Time Staff283
Off- & On-Campus Moonlighting146
Off-Campus Employed Spouse146
Off-Campus Housing177
Off-Campus Speaking Appointments242
Office Hours285
Out-of-Pocket Expenses289
Parking 250
Pet Fee105
Personal Property221
Physical Labor285
Policies & Procedures Committee185
Prayer Meetings 223, 285
Professional Licensing214
Professional Membership Dues214
Purchases 258
Quiet Time268
Reassignment of Staff 272
Request Leave212
Resignation 273, 289
Restricted Funds 274
Retirement Benefits 275
Sabbath Meals120
Safety280
Security Deposits177
Secondary School142
Secondary School Benefits289
Seminars onCampus281
Severance Benefits289
Short-Term Staff283
Sick/PTO Leave212
Snow Days212
Special Agreements 282
Speed Limits & Safety312
Staff283
Staff Anniversary Date 284
Staff Full-Time Requirement289
Staff Hours & Schedules285
Staff Housing177
Staff Interview & Probation Period 286
Staff Meetings 223, 284
Staff Policy & Information Manual 287
Staff Policy Manual Agreement 287
Staff Suggestions 288
Staff Vehicles312
Staff Work Hours285
State/National/Credential Costs214
Stipend & Benefits289
Stipend Full-Time Staff283
Surnames 290
Teacher’s Summer Schedule285
Telephones 292
Termination 289,293
Tools 296
Trails 297
Travel298
United Parcel Service220
Utilities 307
Vacation/PTO Leave212
Vehicles312
Vehicle Insurance312
Vehicle Liability312
Vehicle Operation & Requirements312
Washers & Dryers206
Water Safety Regulations320
Week of Prayer223
Wood 326
Work Orders328
Workshops142
1
Philosophy of Hartland Institute
General Principles
1.Hartland Institute accepts the fundamental Seventh-day Adventist principles that the Bible and the Bible only is our rule of faith and practice; that we have no creed but the Bible. It is the commitment of the Institute to follow divine leading through the Word. Because of this, the members of the Institute (staff, board and constituency), are expected to be unequivocally loyal to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Institute is committed to following Church counsel and order within the parameters of inspired counsel.
- Hartland Institute believes that the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White provide for us the highest, the most relevant and the most reliable authority for conducting our work in modern times. We hold that our security is found in being loyal to these revealed principles.
- Hartland Institute of Health and Education operates a missionary college that integrates high academic standards with a balance of practical vocational training and community outreach programs. The scope of Hartland Institute also includes a medical ministry based upon God’s eight natural remedies; quarterly on-site convocations, weekend programs in churches and schools, a youth camp; an evangelistic magazine, and other ministries helpful to the finishing of God’s work.
- All the ministries of Hartland work cooperatively sharing the following vision: To take the everlasting gospel to the world in this generation through educational, health, evangelistic and media ministries.
- The staff and students of Hartland are encouraged to participate in regular outreach programs to the surrounding communities. Hartland also believes that regular involvement in a church ministry is important. Students and staff attend several nearby churches where they can become useful, productive members.
- Hartland seeks to encourage the highest interpersonal relationships between its staff. Unity in truth through God’s Spirit allows us to have quality Christian relationships. Hartland seeks to provide an environment where each individual can grow and develop in Christian attitudes and principles. Policies are made in harmony with God’s principles and are as few as possible but, as many as needed.
- Hartland Institute is committed to continued support for our Church and its mission. It is a member of Outpost Centers International (OCI), a family of ministries working together in support of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
- Hartland Institute does not receive any financial or other tangible or intangible aid from any government sources. We will not form any relationships with other private organizations or individuals that will in any way compromise our freedom to operate within God’s principles.
Operating Philosophy and Processes
The board of directors oversees the general direction and major projects of the institute. It also appoints administrators and reviews division and administrative reports in its semi-annualmeeting. The board also reviews and approves budget proposals and organizational matters. It is composed of some staff members and administrators, but the majorityof board members are from other locations and represent many fields of experience and ministry.
The constituency membership is organized to make recommendations to the board concerning the major direction of the institute, as well as its philosophy. It provides a basis for participation of all staff members, as well as others interested in, and in harmony with, the philosophy of Hartland Institute. The membership hears and reviews annual reports of divisions and administration, and appoints the board of directors.
Through its representative servant leaders, the divisions and departments also participate in the decisions that affect the whole institution through the administrative committee (AdCom). This committee limits itself to policy matters and decisions that affect all or many divisions and departments, such as spiritual issues in staff members’ appointments, housing assignments, end-time preparedness, retirement policies and crisis-related issues, principles of interdepartmental relations, and interaction with the General Conference of SDAs and church or church-related entities. It also considers all financial matters affecting the whole institute, departmental finances whichhave a major impact on the institute, such as building decisions, annual budget recommendations to the board, etc.Administrators must be alert and responsive to their staff members. It is also important that staff members know that they may address burdens and concerns to AdComin writing or in person. Communication is very important in a healthy institution, and we need to recognize that the enemy of souls is eager to break down confidence and increase suspicion and distrust. Let us all seek to be sensitive to these matters.
Although financial decisionmaking is rooted in departmental budgets, there are certain aspects of financial operations that are based on the larger picture, such as assessments to all incoming funds for administration, maintenance, grounds, and the farm.These assessmentsare to cover the cost of insurance, water, sewer, roads, building maintenance, payments in lieu of tax, phone, network systems, depreciation, etc. Thus a percentage is taken monthly from all incoming funds, which supports the infrastructure and their operation. The college,being the most complicated division, has several committees which work together.The academic affairs committee addresses all general policies and issues whicharise concerning the welfare of the students, except for curriculum issues, student finances, and admissions.These matters are reviewed by their respective committees.The academic affairs committee consists of all teaching staff members, whether part-time or full-time, as well as the deans, admissions director, registrar, and vocational training director. The curriculum committee oversees such issues as the following: when and who will teach what classes; agriculture components and other practical training elements; student requests for internships; field service proposals for credit; and graduation requirements and programming. Any staff member with a concern or a matter relating to the college is welcome to request an opportunity to address the appropriate committee in writing, in person, or both. Other divisions have committees, as well.
The primary focus of each division and department teamis to fulfill their mission.But it is essential that the departments find ways to work together to strengthen each other and increase the mutual benefit of the whole institute.
New staff members may be recruited by the departments and administration.Beforea new staff member may be appointed, AdComreviewshis/her application and conducts a personal interview. Once AdCom clears the way spiritually, doctrinally, and, where necessary, financially, the division is authorized to appoint the applicant to a staff-member position.
Hartland College
The educational objective of Hartland College is to “restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote the development of body, mind, and soul…” Education, pg. 15, 16.
- All students will be involved (at least 16 hours per week) in practical vocational training in close cooperation with an instructor who can teach proper work skills and attitudes. In their final year, students are expected to achieve proficiency in at least one work skill area.
- Competitive games do not have a part in the curriculum. Students obtain their needed physical exercise by useful vocational labor out of doors, supplemented by aerobic-type activities. The goal of optimum health is an essential part of education.
- The curriculum will emphasize mastery of the essentials, rather than a broad enrichment in many less essential areas, and is explicitly service-oriented. Thus, all students will engage in community outreach as a non-optional part of their educational program.
- Motivation for learning and mastering the educational objectives will be provided by the uplifting and fulfilling rewards of loving service, rather than by relying on competitive grading or by offering public honors or extrinsic enticements.
- We consider learning to work as one of the essentials; therefore, agriculture and useful outdoor labor fill a central role in the life of the campus as a means of imparting many practical, needed skills and attitudes.
- Hartland College is closely connected with Hartland Lifestyle Education Center, which provides vocational training experiences and witnessing/service opportunities for the students, as well as giving them an exposure to practical medical missionary training.
- Hartland College will not at any time become involved in accepting funds from federal, state, or any other sources that would involve undesirable restrictions or control.
- The faculty and students at Hartland Institute strive together for academic excellence, believing God's promises that this type of balanced education will produce an excellent agent, capable of meeting the high requirements necessary for the task to which they have been called. In the area of principles which we hold sacred, compromise for the sake of secular approval is never acceptable. Therefore, Hartland College has chosen to claim the religious exemption from accreditation under Section 23-266 A-2 of the Virginia code of higher education.
Hartland lifestyle Education Center
Hartland Lifestyle Education Center is dedicated to serving God by proclaiming His message of true physical, mental, and spiritual health. The goal of our program is to assist individuals as they make permanent lifestyle changes in accordance with God's plan, and to lead them to a closer walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. It is our goal to provide the staff members with a spiritual climate and adequate facilities to create an environment conducive to achieving this goal.
Policies and practices of Hartland Lifestyle Education Center are substantiated by the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, or medical science. At times, policies may be adopted that deal with matters not specifically addressed by Ellen White or the Bible. However, policy will always be in harmony with the principles of health outlined within the pages of Inspiration.
“Our workers should use their knowledge of the laws of life and health. They should study from cause to effect. Read the best authors on these subjects, and obey religiously that which your reason tells you is truth.”Counsels on Health, pg. 566.
The foundation of Hartland Lifestyle Education Center's “Lifestyle to Health” program is God's natural healing agencies: pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, and trust in God. Through lectures, group worship, and individual counseling, participants are encouraged to bring their lives into harmony with these health-producing laws.
Hartland Lifestyle Education Center is not a sanitarium, nor is it an acute-care or long-term-care facility. The "Lifestyle to Health" program is designed to place the guests in a structured environment for a short term to help them establish healthful habits and bring about positive physical changes.
Hartland Lifestyle Education Center does not advocate the use of drugs in the management of lifestyle-related disease.Instead, we aim to assist our guests in adopting a lifestyle which will enable them to discontinue medication. Intelligent lifestyle change is the focus of the program.
Although we believe that health reform should be progressive, the “Lifestyle to Health” program will present the optimum lifestyle in a non-condemnatory fashion and encourage the guests to strive for optimum personal goals. Our program is designed to teach our guests how to properly care for the body, emphasizing that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
While it is acknowledged that the object of our program is to proclaim present truth, the spiritual emphasis of the program is not forced upon the guests nor made a condition of participation. However, health guests are strongly encouraged to rely upon the transforming power of God to effect lifestyle changes.
Hartland Publications
Hartland Publications was established in 1984 as a self-supporting Protestant publishing house. We published Bible-based books and still produce media for Adventist and Protestant Christians of all ages. We support and promote other Christian publishers and media producers who are consistent with Biblical principles of truth and righteousness. We carry a wide range of Spirit of Prophecy, health, nutrition, church history, and religious books to help our readers in personal character development and preparation for the soon return of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. For reference purposes, we will occasionally feature books and other materials that we do not directly endorse, to provide our patrons with enlightening and prophetic counterpoints to our regular fare and to arouse the spirit of true Protestantism, based on the Bible and the Bible only, thus helping the world to value the privilege of the religious liberty that we currently enjoy.
Our publications have been distributed to the six inhabited continents, and we believe we have materials that every student will find rewarding in their search for greater light and truth.
General Policies
100Absence Notification
Staff members who are unavoidably absent from work due to sickness, accident, death in the family, or any other emergency, must notify their immediate supervisors as soon as possible. A leave slip must be filled out, signed by the staff member’s department director, and turned into the business office for proper payroll records.
105Animals
There are a number of public areas on the campus, making it necessary to have a pet policy. Sanitation, disease, consideration of others, safety, and other factors must be considered.
- All dogs and cats must be spayed or neutered.
- Dog and cat owners are to keep the required Madison County rabies vaccinations current for all their pets.
- All dogs and cats must have a collar with theowner’sname written on it. The name can even be written on a flea collar with a magic marker.
- Stray dogs and cats will betaken to the pound.
- To prevent attracting stray animals, it is best that food for pets not be left outdoors.
- Consistently feeding and caring for a stray will be considered as acquiring a new pet, which will then come under the listed pet regulations.
- Dogs should never be allowed to roam. They should be under control at ALL TIMES within a cage, a fenced area, on a leash, within the residence itself, or in the company of their owners in the home area.If a dog consistently escapes its confines and causes distress with staff or students, or frequents the public areas, the owner will be expected to find a solution.
- In view of such factors as noise, campus traffic, aesthetics, etc., pet fences may not be constructed without the explicit permission of the beautification committee.
- Horseback riding is not allowed on the main campus or on the walking trails. Staff members planning to bring horses must have special approval by AdCom for each horse. They cannot be kept on the main part of the campus. Fencing or corrals must be built in such a manner as to contain the animals while not putting Hartland Institute at risk or in conflict with the institute’s activities. All barns or other buildings, fencing, and necessities for the animal’s care must be supplied at the owner’s expense.
- For the safety of all and the good of all the wildlife, please DO NOT DISTURB the creatures of the wild by attempting to feed or care for them.
Benefits See 289 Stipend and Benefits
114Bicycles
To assure safety for all and to reduce the possibility of property damage, the following guidelines have been adopted:
- The campus sidewalks and lawns are not to be used for bicycle riding at any time.
- Bicycles must abide by normal vehicle rules, including stopping at all stop signs, obeying speed limits, and following accepted safety practices.
- Bicycles are not to be stored or parked in hallways, offices, sidewalks or other public areas. When at the mansion, park ALL bicycles at the bicycle rack that is located near the entrance to the mansion.
- Bicycles should not be ridden on walking trails.
- Helmets are required while riding bicycles.
- Bicycles need to have reflectors and a front light for night riding.
118Bulletin Boards