Ohio State faculty salaries becoming more competitive

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University has made good progress in raising faculty salaries to a more competitive level despite an increasingly tight fiscal atmosphere, the university’s board of trustees was told Friday (4/1).

Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder and Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry Lewellen presented a compensation benchmarks study to trustees. The information was presented in preparation for compensation recommendations for next year’s salary increases.

“Colleges and vice presidential units have done a very good job making compensation progress with scarce resources,” Snyder said. “We’ve advanced with faculty salary competitiveness, but we need to continue to assess our goals so that Ohio State can attract and retain world-class faculty. We also still have a significant gap to close for staff.”

The study compared Ohio State\'s average faculty salaries with those of benchmark institutions for each of the past five years and compared faculty salaries by college with benchmark universities. The study also compared staff salaries to external markets and the state of Ohio and examined how Ohio State invests its salary dollars in terms of gender and ethnicity.
The report did not include recommendations for next year’s salary increases, which will go into effect Oct. 1, 2005. The university is switching from a July-to-June pay cycle to an October-to-September pay cycle in an effort to better align itself with the state budget process.

Faculty salaries
The progress Ohio State has made with faculty salary increases is evident when ranking the university against its public benchmark institutions. When looking at a five-year history, Ohio State is now fifth out of the 10 institutions for budget allocations for faculty salary increases. The average five-year total is 16.1 percent; Ohio State’s is 17.3 percent. When looking at a three-year history, Ohio State is first, with a three-year total of 12.1 percent, compared to the benchmark average of 6.7 percent.

“We have done an excellent job the last three years of prioritizing funds for our Competitive Compensation Initiative, which was made possible through the leadership of the deans,” Snyder said.

Three years ago, when Ohio State’s average salary was $74,840, it was ranked eighth out of its 10 benchmark institutions and was 6.1 percent below the benchmark average of $79,670. Currently, the university’s average salary is $86,460, which places it sixth out of the 10 institutions and 0.5 percent below the average of $86,905.

“We can see that the Compensation Initiative, which began in 2002-03, is succeeding in moving Ohio State forward. However, when we broaden the comparisons beyond our benchmark institutions, it becomes clearer that there is still a need for progress,” Lewellen said.

When compared to the 60 members of the Association of American Universities, Ohio State is currently ranked 38th. When compared to the 43 public institutions in that group, Ohio State’s average salary of $86,460 ranks 15th and is 2.2 percent above the average of $84,640.

The university also examined salary data by college. “We see that for early estimates of 2004-05, we have 11 colleges that are below market average when compared to benchmark universities and seven colleges that are above market,” Lewellen said.

This year’s study also included an examination of current faculty salary increases, and what percentage of faculty received each possible increase. Increases ranged from 0 percent to more than 8 percent, with the majority falling between about 2 percent and 5 percent. “The bell curve exhibited by the percentage increases this year shows that — as desired — faculty salary increases are heavily performance-based and not just given across the board,” Lewellen said.

Staff salaries
“We have not made as much progress as we need to for staff salaries, with several occupational groups this year falling slightly further behind market than in fiscal year 2004,” Lewellen said. “Considering all staff job categories, we are 11.1 percent below the average market this year, compared to 9.5 percent below market last year.”

This year’s study, by job category, shows: managers and administrators, 6.5 percent below average market; professional, 12.7 percent below average; clerical and secretarial, 4 percent above; paraprofessional, technical, 14.6 percent below; skilled craft, 5.2 percent below; and service, maintenance, 10.5 percent below.

Staff salaries, when compared to similar positions for the state of Ohio, show more parity. The university offers an average salary of $35,600 and the state offers an average salary of $34,300. “Most state employees have been on a wage freeze, but are scheduled to receive a 4 percent increase later this year,” Lewellen said.

The presentation included a summary of the market outlook for next year. Nationally, all employer groups are expected to provide raises in the range of 3.4 percent to 4.1 percent, while Ohio is expected to range from 3.3 percent to 3.6 percent. Early estimates for benchmarks institutions show raises in the 2 percent to 3.2 percent range, and the Inter University Council institutions at 3 percent. Nationally, for higher education and non-profits, the range is expected to be 2 percent to 3.2 percent.

Graduate associates
Lewellen also provided an update on benefits and compensation for graduate associates. “We have made a lot of progress in the past year, including increasing the minimum stipend, implementing pre-tax health care premiums and domestic partner and sponsored-dependent coverage,” he said. “In fiscal year 2006, we also will increase the health care subsidy for graduate associates to 75 percent, from 64 percent. We also plan to increase the dependent health care subsidy from 25 percent to 50 percent. The dependent health care subsidy was newly implemented in fiscal year 2005.”

Also in fiscal year 2006, the university will implement a parental leave and extended medical leave program for graduate associates, as well as a standard appointment process.

“Overall, the university has made great progress on the issues raised by GAs in the Graduate Quality of University Experience study, sponsored by the Council of Graduate Students and the Graduate School,” Lewellen said.

“Consideration of future compensation milestones must occur in the context of the university’s performance measured against the goals of the Academic Plan,” Snyder said.