Colleagues:

Although the state budget for the coming academic year has not yet been adopted by the Legislature, I wish to clarify how our College will handle merit salary increases for faculty and professional staff. At this time, it appears that a 3.2% salary increase may be authorized for state employees for 2005-06. This will likely include 3.2% for both represented and non-represented classified staff and an average 3.2% for faculty, librarians, and professional staff. If the final state budget differs markedly from these assumptions or if the Regents institute alternate policies, some of what is stated below may be modified to accommodate such changes.

Faculty

After the University funds any salary increases needed for faculty promotions (7.5%), it will fund the regular faculty merit pool (2%). Present plans call for this 2% merit salary increase to be awarded to all faculty judged to be meritorious. This will be handled as either a 0% merit increase for those judged to be non-meritorious or 2% for those judged to be meritorious. If, after funding faculty promotions and regular merit increases, funds remain - additional salary allocations may be allotted between additional merit and retention.

To be prepared, it is necessary for us to implement the merit review and performance evaluation processes for faculty immediately. These reviews will form the basis for the allocation of both regular merit, and separately, for any additional merit awards for faculty should funds be available.

Salary increases will take effect on July 1, 2005 (nontenure-track) or September 16, 2005 (tenure-track). All faculty, regardless of source of funding, are subject to these procedures. Non-state funded faculty must ensure that their funding sources are sufficient to cover all salary increases. Chair Gustafson will forward all merit increases to the Dean for final review and approval by May 10, 2005.

Professional Staff

The CFR policy for merit salary increases for professional staff was distributed on February 11, 2003 and, with few changes, remains operative. Our current plans call for a 3.2% salary increase to be awarded to all professional staff judged to be meritorious. Only professional staff who have had a performance evaluation completed in the last 12 months (i.e., on or after July 1, 2004); have been permanently employed by the College for at least six months; and who have not had an in-grade salary increase or reclassification approved within the last six months (i.e., on or after January 1, 2005), will be eligible for this raise. [Note, it is the date of approval of an in-grade increase or reclassification that governs, not the retroactive date of the application of same. Pending in-grade or reclassification applications will be handled on a case by case basis.]

The regular merit salary increases will be handled as either a 0% merit increase for those judged to be non-meritorious or 3.2% for those judged to be meritorious. Unused salary increase funds from those professional staff judged to be non-meritorious, from open staff positions or from ineligible staff will be used for either retention situations or additional merit for those judged to be highly meritorious. However, final actions in this regard necessarily await approval of the University budget by the Legislature and Regents.

Salary increases will take effect on July 1, 2005. All professional staff, regardless of source of funding, are subject to these procedures. Supervisors of non-state funded professional staff must ensure that funding sources are sufficient to cover all salary increases. Exceptions to this policy are spelled out on the web site referenced above.

Supervisors should forward their merit salary recommendations for each professional staff employee supervised to Geetha Sukumaran by May 10, 2005, for the Dean's final approval. As stated earlier, merit eligibility requires that a performance evaluation must have been completed in the last 12 months. Recommendations for increases in excess of 3.2% must be justified and documented as specified in the Professional Staff Salary Increase Policy at the web site above, and accompanied by a specific budget source under the supervisor's control in the event that state merit pool funds are not available.

As more definite allocation decisions for faculty and professional staff are known, we will quickly provide that information in order to finalize our procedures.