Toni Steffens-Steward
The Paw Print
Nearly five years ago the Adams State College board of trustees started working toward a goal to bring faculty and administrative staff salaries up to 90 percent of the average pay for their specific jobs at peer institutions.
Now, after all of that time, they have nearly reached their goal, which puts the most staff and faculty of Adams State at 90 percent of average for state peer institutions. That average was determined by Tracy Rogers director of human resources at ASC using the annual College and University Personnel Association compensation report. Comparing Adams State staff and faculty salaries to those of similar colleges in the state Rogers can find the average. In order to bring faculty pay rates up to the 90 percent goal the process was split up into four different phases. Administrative equity adjustments, which were not counted as one of these phases, were started two years ago.
The first phase involved a change in rates at which new employees are hired. As new employees were brought into the college they were paid according to the market value of their position. Hiring at an amount that ensured employees were within 90 percent of average for their position would better help to ensure that they stay within that limit as they advance at the college, according to Rogers.
Bill Mansheim, ASC’s chief financial officer explains that a second phase, which took place in the last 5 years, took the pay of associate professors around the college up to 90 percent of the average of their peers. The change in pay was made through equity adjustments, which were used to make the pay of each associate professor on campus meet the 90 percent requirement.
Both of the next phases were focused on adjusting the pay of professors. This phase was stretched into two years because it was difficult to find data on some of the positions, particularly those in the sciences and business and because the adjustments took a large amount of money.
Now that almost all of the positions at the college are paying at or above 90 percent of the average amount for comparable positions across the state, Rogers says that it will be a continuing process. While she is glad to have seen the increase in pay rates for many administrators and faculty she said “How crummy is it to say ‘Woo hoo we’re 90 percent of average’… I don’t feel that our faculty and staff are average; I think they are much better than that.”
With pay rates beginning to resemble those around the state Rodgers is concerned with another employee pay issue that may soon come around for the college. Cost of living increases have been frozen at the college for the last three years for all college employees. Rogers points out that “the rest of the nation isn’t doing that.” Her concern is that the college will eventually have to increase employee salaries to maintain the percentage.
In the past, cost of living increases have been determined by the status of classified employees. Their pay rate and increases are determined by the Colorado legislature and the ASC board is unable to approve a cost of living increase for those employees without legislative approval. The board determines the cost of living increase for all other employees based on the increases for classified employees. The board does plan to consider an alternative system to ensure cost of living increases for faculty and administration, but no formal decision has been made.
Right now, salary levels for almost all administration and faculty have reached 90 percent of average, but continuing economic turbulence and funding downturns may threaten that achievement.
What’s Been Said…