Merit-Equity Pay Guidelines - 2010
(sent to Department Chairs/Deans October 26, 2009)

Background:

The purpose of this memo is to share information on the process for recommending faculty for merit and equity increases in 2010-2011. These recommendations and the process seem to create more angst than almost anything we do, so it’s important to have some guidelines.

The listed criteria for merit were developed four years ago in consultation with the Deans’ Council and the PIC. I should note that a fourth criterion was added in 2007 that addresses contributions to the overall mission of the college. I have provided some examples to assist you in case you choose to use this area to reinforce a merit recommendation. Although still broad, the criteria demonstrate that merit can be awarded for activities other than scholarly works (often interpreted as the publication of a book). If you have questions about any given individual’s qualifications for merit, I encourage you to consult with your dean.

The other challenging issue is the determination of equity awards. In the last three years, the Deans used a mathematical model that helped assess the legitimacy of an equity request. The model was developed at another university and adapted for Hope. The results were presented to the deans (several times) and the PIC. The model enables us to compare the existing salary with the salary predicted by the model, taking into account multiple factors (e.g., rank, gender, discipline, holder of endowed chair, etc.). There are also performance factors that contribute to salary levels and these are considered as well.

For the past two years we have run the model for all faculty and provided the results to each dean. Equity/market adjustments were then made to a wide range of faculty from each division. Although it is highly unlikely we will have any money to address equity issues, you may make recommendations you believe are appropriate. The deans will know the equity position of each faculty member in their division and I encourage you to consult with them if you are in doubt.

Merit pay:

While we have not yet confirmed there will be a pool of money allocated for merit awards, we hope to continue to follow the PIC’s past recommendations for this process: merit awards of $500 each given to approximately 30% of the faculty, allocated proportionally to the divisions based on their total full-time faculty.

Department chairpersons will provide their dean with a paragraph which clearly documents the accomplishments of each person being recommended for merit pay. Overall, exceptional merit implies that the person’s contributions have exceeded the normal expectations for a faculty member in that department /division.

Merit pay can be recommended for:

• exceptional scholarly contributions (as defined by that department or division) in the last one to two years or because of a long-term consistent contribution to scholarship that has never risen to the highest level in any one year but is still exemplary;
• exceptional contributions to teaching excellence that go beyond the typical classroom excellence, e.g., providing leadership to pedagogical reform, creating courses that impact a broad segment of students (gen ed/IDS), receiving national recognition for teaching, or similar type activities;
• making an exceptional service contribution, such as reorganization or revision of curricula, either in the major or the core, or similar college service;
• making an exceptional contribution to the mission of the College. (examples might include: active use of pedagogy that integrates faith and learning; publishing papers and making public presentations that focus on the Christian dimension of academic excellence; organizing speakers and/or programs that give particular emphasis to the college’s mission and goals; and/or bringing regional and national recognition to Hope’s mission to be exceptional in academics and faith.)

Department chairs will prioritize their recommendations for merit (if more than one) and each dean in turn will prioritize the divisional recommendations when they are sent to the Status Committee. The Status Committee will make the final determination of merit awards and send recommendations to the president. Note that the Status Committee members will have access to the Service to Hope forms and can ask for review of candidates who either did not make the dean’s list or did not rank high enough to fall in the 30% category. Hopefully, this will prevent someone who is meritorious from being missed in the overall process.

Equity pay :

Department chairpersons may recommend an equity pay adjustment; however, the request will be evaluated using the model described above and the results will be shared with the chairperson.

Implementation:

Recommendations on merit and equity will be made by the dean to the Status Committee; the Status Committee will then send a list of recommendations to President Bultman. We have agreed that if the president disagrees with any of the Status Committee’s recommendations, he will meet with the committee and discuss his concerns. Ultimately, the final decision rests with the president.