The STAR Achievement Awards recognize sustained, exceptional performance and/or significant contributions from an employee(s) over an extended period of time.

Under the STAR Plan, anyone can nominate eligible staff who exhibit exceptional performance and/or significant contributions related to and supportive of individual, departmental, divisional, and/or organizational goals and objectives. Eligible individuals and teams should demonstrate:

  • Exceptional performance: Demonstrated and sustained exceptional performance that consistently exceeds goals and work expectations in quantity and/or quality
  • Creativity: One-time innovation or creation that results in time/dollar savings, revenue enhancement, and productivity improvement; and/or ongoing innovative/creative activities that benefit organizational systems, protocols, and/or procedures
  • Organizational abilities: Exhibiting extraordinary skills in leadership resulting in the accomplishment of significant departmental or divisional goals and objectives; effective project management, which could include developing a project and/or implementing a project with substantial success; and/or demonstrating organizational capability leading to a greater level of effectiveness
  • Work success: Significantly exceeding productivity, customer service, quality of care or similar goals, including demonstrating superior interactions with managers, peers, supervisors, subordinates, the University community, and/or clients and customers served 
  • Teamwork: Acting as an exceptionally effective and cooperative team member or team leader for a team that has significantly exceeded the goals/objectives of the department/unit.

Eligible staff must reflect at least one of the Chancellor’s Goals and/or embody the UCSF PRIDE Values:

  • Chancellor’s Goals – Foster Innovation, Build Value-Added Partnerships, Bolster Financial Resiliency, Nurture UCSF’s Culture and Empower Its People
  • UCSF PRIDE Values Professionalism – how we conduct ourselves, and our business Respect – for our patients, families, ourselves, and each other Integrity – always doing the honest, right thing Diversity – understanding and embracing the diverse beliefs, needs and expectations of our patients, community, and employees Excellence – what we strive for in everything we do

Eligibility Requirements for Nomination

Any staff, non-faculty academic or faculty member can nominate an eligible employee for a STAR award. In addition, an employee outside of the SOM could submit a nomination for a SOM employee.

UCSF staff in policy-covered titles (MSP and PSS) and staff within the CX bargaining unit are eligible for award participation (“eligible employees”) as long as they meet the following criteria:

  • Must hold a career position (payroll code- appointment type "2"); or a contract position (payroll code- appointment type "1") at 50 percent or more time for a duration of six months or more; or a limited position (payroll code- appointment type "4")
  • Must have 6 months of continuous service at UCSF
  • Completion of probationary period where applicable
  • Satisfactory performance rating on most recent performance evaluation. (PPSM 23 requires that written performance evaluations be completed annually.) Employees who have not yet received an annual performance evaluation may be eligible for an award if their manager confirms on the nomination form that they are satisfactory
  • On active pay status or approved unpaid leave at UCSF on the date that the cash payment is made
  • Does not participate in the clinical incentive program (CERMP2) or another type of incentive award program
  • Transfers:
    • Intra transfers (transfer from one UCSF department to another UCSF department) would still be eligible, because the employee still works for UCSF
    • Inter transfers (transfer from another campus/location to UCSF) and the employee does not have a break in service, then employee is eligible if the above criteria are met

Participation in the Program for any Program Period does not provide any right or guarantee to participate in the Program for any subsequent Program Period.