On Friday, Oct. 28, I will propose to the Board of Governors that we implement a mid-year salary increase beginning Jan. 1, 2012. I want to use this issue of Clif’s Notes to give you the details of that proposal.
Salaries are a priority
As you know, I have talked about the need for a salary increase since I was introduced as Interim President on June 27. I have discussed this priority multiple times, including at the Board of Governors retreat in August and, most recently, in my State of the University Address both in Springfield and West Plains.
Over the past six weeks or so, members of Administrative Council and I developed a concept for the mid-year salary increase. We presented that concept to the Executive Budget Committee at its first meeting of the year on Sept. 29. That 20-member committee has representatives from all constituent groups, including nine faculty members elected by the faculty in their colleges. Through its discussion, the committee improved the concept even further. That led to the second meeting on Oct. 6 where the Executive Budget Committee made final suggestions, then unanimously approved both the concept and the details of the plan. See the committee’s minutes.
This is the plan I will present to the Board and the plan that is described below.
Philosophy and overview
Below are the 11 guidelines for the mid-year raise, along with a financial summary.
We first decided that we could afford a salary pool equal to 2 percent plus benefits. The next step was to determine how this money would be allocated. As you will see, this proposal is designed to benefit lower-paid employees relatively more than others. For example, if you look at the percentage increase, the increase for an employee making $30,000 per year is 2.53 percent, while the increase for an employee making $100,000 is 1.6 percent.
Please note this plan excludes the highest paid employees — no employee with a base salary of $150,000 or more will be eligible for the raise.
The cost of this raise will be funded centrally through my office for the first six months (January through June) for all units except auxiliaries. Since this is half of the year, the cost is half of the annual total ($1,181,449.50). The cost centers have been tasked with developing plans to cover the cost in the future, beginning July 1, 2012. The cost centers also will develop plans to deal with any projected reductions in state appropriations, as well as an additional salary increase if we are able to fund one. As previously discussed, our ability to provide another raise in July will depend on a number of factors, including the level of state appropriations and enrollment.
I also would mention that this “percentage plus a fixed amount” is likely to be a one-time occurrence. In the future, we would anticipate that raises of 2 percent or less would be a straight percentage raise for all, and raises above 2 percent would be awarded based on the merit system in accordance with established policies.
Eleven Guidelines
Here are the 11 guidelines that provide the foundation for the proposed mid-year salary increase:
- It will be effective Jan. 1, 2012, for staff, and Feb. 1, 2012 for faculty.
- To qualify for the raise, you must have been in a full-time position prior to July 1, 2011 (service date or updated current hire date).*
- The raise will combine a percentage component (1.2 percent) plus a fixed annual amount component ($400).
- No raise may exceed a cap of $1,800 annually.
- An employee’s salary after the raise cannot exceed the maximum for the pay grade.
- All individuals with a base salary of $150,000 or more annually are excluded from the raise.
- The raise is only for full-time employees.
- All full-time employees with an appointment percentage between 75 percent and less than 100 percent will have their raise pro rata by their appointment percent.
- The raise will only be on the base pay.
- Faculty who retire effective Feb. 1, 2012, will not receive the pay increase.
- The total annual cost of the raise with benefits is $2,356,529 (excluding auxiliaries).
* Since we have had questions in the past regarding part-time employees at less than 75 percent, let me address that here: Cost center heads have the ability to adjust the salaries of part-time employees at any given time, provided they have justification and the resources to do so. There is no University policy that prohibits cost center heads from making these decisions on individual part-time employees.
Financial summary and examples
What follows is a financial summary of the proposed plan, with projections and examples.
Missouri State University Mid-Year Raise Projections
Estimated Cost of Annual Raise with Benefits
1.2% + $400 with $1,800 Cap | |
---|---|
West Plains Total | $129,408 |
Springfield Total | 2,177,910 |
Other Total | 55,581 |
Total Before Auxiliary | 2,362,899 |
Auxiliary Total | 290,230 |
Grand Total | $2,653,129 |
Examples for illustration purposes
Employee Annual Base Salary |
1.2% Increase | $400 Increase | Total Raise (%) |
---|---|---|---|
$100,000.00 | $1,200.00 | $400.00 | $1,600.00 (1.60%) |
** 61,375.00 |
736.50 | 400.00 | 1,136.50 (1.85%) |
50,000.00 | 600.00 | 400.00 | 1,000.00 (2.00%) |
30,000.00 | 360.00 | 400.00 | 760.00 (2.53%) |
Conclusion
I hope you find this summary clear and helpful. You will be pleased to know that the Board of Governors is very supportive of improving salaries, and their first impression of this proposal has been positive. They will study it for the next couple of weeks before I formally present it to them on Oct. 28. I will keep you informed about its status.
Thanks for all you do for Missouri State University.
–Clif
Involving more students in research both at the graduate and undergraduate levels is one of the goals of the University’s new long-range plan, Fulfilling Our Promise. Graduate student Ryan Spidle is just one good example. Since he was a junior, Ryan has worked on research projects with Dr. Adam Wanekaya, assistant professor of chemistry.
Ryan’s research is on the fabrication, characterization and biomedical applications of metal oxide nanoparticles. As an undergraduate, Ryan presented his research in various conferences, including the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at Missouri State (local, won 2nd place), 2010 Missouri Academy of Science in Springfield MO (regional), 2010 International Symposium on Spectral Sensing Research in Springfield MO (International), and the 2nd Missouri Nanofrontiers Symposium in St Louis, MO (Regional).
Ryan co-authored the paper “Effects of Nanomaterials on Luciferase with Significant Protection and Increased Enzyme Activity Observed for Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles,” which is in press in the Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. He also is a co-author of another manuscript titled “Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles” that was submitted for publication in the International Journal of Environment and Water Management.
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