BGSU Welcome

Trustees to get compensation plan early next year

A compensation plan for faculty and staff will be on the Board of Trustees' table early in 1999.

The trustees' Financial Affairs and Facilities Committee on Nov. 6 endorsed the process proposed by President Sidney Ribeau for generating the plan.

That process will begin with three small committees of no more than five faculty, administrative staff and classified staff, respectively, the president said. In each case, he will appoint four committee members, while the appropriate constituent group will select one, he said.

Each of the three committees will generally compare University compensation-particularly salaries-with that paid in similar settings, and suggest ways to raise the Bowling Green bar to competitive levels.

Ribeau will combine the three panels' reports into one, which he then intends to redistribute for input before writing a final report to the trustees in late winter or early spring.

The faculty committee's charge will include recommendation of options for raising faculty salaries, in five to seven years, to the 70th percentile among public institutions with the Carnegie classification of either Research II, Doctoral I or Doctoral II.

Bowling Green is among 52 universities nationwide which are classified as Doctoral I, meaning that they grant 40 or more doctoral degrees annually in five or more disciplines. Toledo, Akron and Miami are other Ohio universities in the same category.

Cleveland State and Wright State are Ohio institutions considered Doctoral II. The 59 universities in that classification grant either 10 or more doctoral degrees per year in at least three disciplines, or 20 or more doctorates in at least one discipline.

Research II universities grant 50 or more doctoral degrees annually and receive $15.5-$40 million per year in federal support. Kent State and Ohio University are among the 37 institutions in that category.

The highest classification is Research I, where Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati are among the 88 institutions which grant 50 or more doctoral degrees and receive more than $40 million in federal aid each year.

Last year, according to an Ohio State/American Association of University Professors (AAUP) survey, $51,344 was the all-rank average salary of full-time University instructional faculty.

J. Christopher Dalton, senior vice president for finance, said the mix of faculty at each rank-from professor to lecturer-affects that figure, which placed Bowling Green last among 11 public institutions in the state. Ohio State ($64,334) was at the top of the list, while Youngstown State ($52,300) was just above BGSU in 10th place.

Dalton noted that universities high on the list have a higher percentage of faculty at the upper ranks than Bowling Green. Others have kept full professors in part because, unlike the University, they haven't had an early retirement program, added Trustee Valerie Newell of Cincinnati.

While Bowling Green's 1997-98 figure was $51,344, the all-rank average salary among AAUP's public Research II, Doctoral I and Doctoral II institutions was $53,800.

To be at the 70th percentile among those institutions last year, the University's average would have had to be $55,900. At that level, the University would be among the top two or three such institutions in the state, Dalton noted.

He also pointed out that with the retirement incentive program ending, and fewer faculty retiring early, the all-rank average salary should start going up.

Trustee Delbert Latta of Bowling Green asked if the University has lost many faculty because of salaries. On average, it hasn't, replied Charles Middleton, provost and vice president for academic affairs, although salaries have been a concern in some programs.

Also presenting figures to back the cause for higher faculty salaries was Faculty Senate Chair Veronica Gold, who noted the "significant" role of tenured and probationary faculty in the University's revenue streams.

The compensation committee for administrative staff will be looking at data first to identify a benchmark, Ribeau said, questioning hypothetically if the 70th percentile would also make sense in that case. The committee will then recommend methods to reach the benchmark.

For administrative staff, salary comparisons with other universities are more difficult for several reasons, including differences in positions from one institution to another, Dalton said. But he thinks more data can be obtained, he said, so work will continue on determining the best peer group.

Administrative Staff Council, through its chair, Deb Boyce, suggested that the new committee "develop and field-test a systematic process to conduct 'market reviews' of administrative staff positions and salary ranges" and "undertake systematic research to: (1) study the features of designated institutions' compensation plans and (2) benchmark their administrative staff salary ranges and positions" compared to BGSU's at all levels, especially those not included in College and University Personnel Association data.

ASC's Salary Committee has recommended "for quite some time" that administrative staff salaries be in parity with Ohio, Miami and Kent State universities, according to the outline of ASC suggestions.

The classified staff committee should be helped by data forthcoming from a survey, the most comprehensive one taken of classified staff in at least five years, said Rebecca Ferguson, assistant provost, human resources.

Jay Samelak, chair of Classified Staff Council, said the classified staff has increased by about 50 positions in the last five years-a recovery from previous cutbacks-but how it relates to the market isn't known.

Comparisons are being made with groups elsewhere, including the business world, in terms of benefits as well as salaries, Ferguson said.