Resolution to Establish a Process for Faculty Salary Appeals

Presented December 11, 1998, Passed January 22, 1999

The Benefits and Work Environment Committee of the Faculty Senate has identified salary compression as an issue within its purview and worthy of its investigation.  The committee defines salary compression as:

a lag in salary advancement of current faculty relative to the salaries of new hires within the same unit of the University.  The lag cannot be due to poor performance as reflected in annual evaluations, nor does it result from inequities dues to gender or race discrimination.  Salary compression does not necessarily mean that current faculty earn less than new hires, though this may happen; rather it means that a current faculty member's salary has not kept pace with market forces as measured by the starting salaries of new hires within the unit.

The commitee has established that salary compression is of concern to several faculty and some staff.  Currently no process is in place to address salary compression either in a comprehensive or an individual way.  Those who regard themselves as victims of salary compression have no recourse other than to persuade their chairs and deans that they are deserving of some "equity" raise over and above cost-of-living and merit raises, and to request that their deans make special requests during budget hearings.

The Faculty Senate established some years ago an ad hoc Faculty Salary Appeal Committee that is convened solely at the discretion of the Vice President for Academic Affairs (now Provost).  The charge of this committee is limited to examining the appeals of faculty who believe that the distribution of the previous year's raises was unfair.  It is not within the charge of the committee to examine "historic" or long-term inequities of any origin, despite the fact that some faculty claiming historic inequities have been advised by the VPAA office to submit their appeals to this committee.

Thus the Benefits and Work Environment Committee recommends that the Faculty Senate adopt the following resolution:

RESOLVED:

1. That the Faculty Salary Appeal Committee be changed from an ad hoc to a standing committee at the University comprised of elected faculty from each of the colleges and schools, and that the Committee meet every fall term to consider appeals (presuming any appeals have been made);
2. That the charge of the Committee be expanded to examine appeals of all types of salary inequity, including discrimination as well as salary compression;
3. That the Committee establish appropriate criteria and necessary documentation to be supplied by the faculty member for the Committee's review;
4. That the Committee make its recommendations to the VPAA/Provost regarding its support of or non-support of individual appeals in time for consideration in the next budget;
5. That the process be as fair, equitable, and streamlined as possible;
6. That chairs and deans be informed by the appellant of the appeal but that they may not impede or deny it;
7. That chairs and deans have the option of responding in writing to the committee but that letters of support or other administrative documentation are not required;
8. That a separate process be identified to examine similar concerns among USM staff.

Last Modified: November 12, 2007 8:25 AM
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