3.75% salary increase across the board to move salaries closer to the 2022 Annual Consumer Price Index increase.
We want to thank University leadership for recognizing our hard work by continuing to offer the flexibility to work in-person and/or remotely, to consider staff benefits differently, and for offering the last five days of the year off with pay.
These acts of appreciation have not gone unnoticed, and we recognize the University must continue to make decisions based on the challenges BGSU is facing, but we also see places where the University could add benefits that would allow for greater returns and help BGSU recruit and retain employees. As representatives, we seek to submit a request that fairly and equitably compensates the dedicated Administrative Staff at BGSU.
Bowling Green State University’s current and continued success is only as great as the employees that support the institution – faculty members, Classified Staff, student staff and Administrative Staff. All of us are needed to make BGSU a great place to learn and work.
ASC is positioned to serve alongside senior leadership to ensure policies, processes and other University decisions are the best possible solutions for the institution and are fully thought out prior to being implemented and announced. We recognize growth with open communication between ASC and key members of university leadership, and we look forward to continuing to build trust and transparency.
So as an equal part of the overall success of the institution, we are presenting several FY24 requests for consideration. After review, we would like to extend an invitation to Sherri Stoll, Chief Financial Officer, to present at a fall 2023 Administrative Staff Council general meeting to provide a summary of decisions made for FY24.
We understand inflation affects University expenses as well and has a priority to keep education affordable for students. Because of this, we are not requesting a full cost of living adjustment of 6.5% to match inflation. However, to combat a large number of staff resignations BGSU is experiencing and to compete in the job market, the University must prioritize raising staff wages beyond what has been traditionally offered over the past 13 years.
As we strive to be a public university for the public good, Administrative Staff members are working hard to be innovative and resourceful in finding new ways to better serve our students, campus partners, and the Bowling Green and Erie County communities. Because of this, we are requesting that university leadership seriously consider our FY24 compensation request and grant a 3.75% salary increase across the board to move salaries closer to the 2022 Annual Consumer Price Index increase.
Benefit Request
Administrative Staff Council conducted a benefits and morale survey in October 2022 that gathered 150 responses from admin staff in all functional areas. The responses have been shared with senior leadership and are available for public viewing online.
For FY24, we have focused our requests based on the survey data and feedback we receive at our general council and executive committee meetings.
New this year, we have removed the healthcare benefit requests from this memo and instead appointed dedicated staff members from the ASC Personnel, Welfare and Compensation committee to PACHWI, and we plan on submitting a separate request for FY24 benefits through our PACHWI representatives.
We are appreciative of the ongoing partnership with University officials to enhance the employment benefits, and we look forward to working with you to implement the following prioritized requests:
Enact a permanent paid time off benefit between Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Administrative staff has been grateful for this extra time off at the end of the year to be with their families, and making this permanent will give staff more time to plan and can be used to attract candidates to work at BGSU. The days will be paid time off for employees. For those staff members whose duties do not accommodate this time off, they may work with their supervisors to take alternate five days off by June 30 of each fiscal year, or this time will expire.
Provide increased workload stipends for employees with increased workloads due to a department vacancy, long-term absence, special project, etc. BGSU should provide increased workload stipends for employees with increased workloads outside their normal duties. Although there is an official policy for interim work, only 6.76% of staff think the policy is being applied consistently. To combat this, we are requesting that policy 3341-5-2 section D4 be amended to exclude “and is in a higher grade level” and rewritten so it is inclusive of additional scenarios that deserve additional compensation. Just because a vacancy is in the same or lower pay grade level does not mean there is less work to be shared, and it doesn’t mean that the individual absorbing the extra work has a position with the same responsibilities. All staff deserves to be compensated fairly if they are taking on extra work that is typically done by another position. If this is not feasible due to budget, staff should be granted the right to refuse the extra workload without penalty or punishment and expectations from the department should be adjusted in accordance with the number of individuals available to conduct the work.
Provide supervisors the ability to offer additional merit-based raises and bonuses. We are requesting that policy 3341-5-5 be reviewed, and a merit pool based on job performance be allocated in addition to the annual across-the-board cost of living adjustments. Additionally, we would like the University to make an effort to ensure supervisors and staff who manage department budgets are informed about the policy so they can properly plan their budgets and are aware of the existence of the policy. Over 90% of staff who took the survey said merit-based bonuses and raises would boost their morale and help retain current employees, but only 33% knew a formal policy existed. Furthermore, there are departments on this campus that would like to offer bonuses under the current structure but can't because their budgets are limited. We would like to see amendments made so departments in this situation can request to grant bonuses out of a university-shared fund.
- Undergo a wage audit for all staff. During this audit, our hope is that job duties and wages will be realigned based on the audit’s findings.
