Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
June 14, 2002

Average increase for faculty, P&S staff around 2.6 percent

by Anne Krapfl
The salary increase average for P&S staff and faculty for the year beginning July 1 will be around 2.6 percent. However, due to the relatively small pool of salary dollars, university officials are not actually targeting an "average" increase this year, as they have in the past. They will grant more latitude to managers who want to reallocate funds to award greater salary increases to exemplary employees, and especially to help correct market or equity issues. Such reallocations will require provost or vice presidential approval.

Iowa State's portion of salary increase dollars from the state is a little over $9.1 million. This will be used to fund salary increases for Merit staff as required by the AFSCME contract, increases in the cost of benefits and worker's compensation, increases for faculty promotions ($2,600 for promotion to full professor, $2,300 to associate professor) and the salary increases for faculty and P&S staff.

The university will use an additional $1.1 million in earnings from its Principal stock endowment to reduce the estimated health benefit cost increases for all employees when the next plan year begins Feb. 1, 2003. As a policyholder, Iowa State made (and subsequently invested) money when the Principal Co. changed from a mutual company to a publicly held company last year. Earnings from the endowment are to be used for employee benefits needs.

Salary increases for ISU Merit employees covered by the AFSCME contract will include two components: an average 3 percent increase on July 1 and an average increase of 4.5 percent on employees' anniversary dates. The Merit system is converting this year from a 10-step matrix to pay grades with minimums and maximums; this conversion will give some individual employees further increases to bring salaries to pay grade minimums.

Distribution of salary dollars
Earlier this week, the provost and vice presidents received a memo outlining how salary increase funds should be used. Faculty and P&S staff who received satisfactory performance evaluations this spring and summer will receive a minimum salary increase of 0.87 percent (one-third of what's distributed for increases this year). Exceptions will be considered when an individual who performed well requests less than this minimum to free up salary dollars to improve colleagues' salaries. The provost or a vice president must approve all exceptions of this kind. Increases above this amount will be based on individual merit and market or equity issues.

Last week, the P&S Council approved a distribution recommendation that ignored the one-third minimum requirement this year and asked instead for equitable increases for all. However, the one-third minimum policy is a standing faculty policy and President Gregory Geoffroy said he believes it is important to use the same policy for both groups.