Recommendation 8.21: NCSU should heighten public and state policymakers' awareness of the uniqueness and value of NCSU to the people of North Carolina and the importance of hiring and retaining quality faculty.
When merit-increase money is available, faculty salaries are determined by procedures involving recommendations from department heads. These recommendations are based on annual performance reviews of faculty members, which are required for all faculty who do not have permanent tenure and are conducted in accordance with the established University, college, and departmental promotion and tenure guidelines and in the light of assigned functions (e.g., teaching, research, service and extension). For faculty with permanent tenure, the annual performance review may, at the discretion of the department head, consist of the submission and evaluation of an annual activity report, which is required of all faculty (Faculty Handbook, p. 42) [4.4.5.1].
Recommendations for salary increases are reviewed and approved or modified by the appropriate dean and forwarded to the provost for approval or modification. In most cases, final approval is by the Board of Trustees and/or the Board of Governors (Faculty Handbook pp. 99-100). Although department heads often discuss salary and the criteria used for merit increases during the annual performance reviews of individual faculty members, there is considerable variation from department to department.
Recommendation 8.22: NCSU should improve universitywide procedures for annual salary reviews, and should require clear criteria for merit increases and reviews for all NCSU faculty.
When an adjustment in salary in not considered by the faculty member to be reasonable, the faculty member may request that the department head provide in writing the reasons for the decision, which should be specific, pertinent, and relevant to the concerned individual. This written justification is reviewed by the college's dean, who confirms or denies that good and sufficient reasons pertinent to the issue and specific to the individual are clearly stated. If a faculty member is dissatisfied with the written justification, the faculty member may submit a grievance, initiating mediation procedures (Faculty Handbook, p.49).
Salary increases at NCSU are not formally linked to professional advancement, which is a policy that can lead to morale problems. Faculty receive only two promotions during a normal career at NCSU, and these promotions should be recognized tangibly in terms of salary increase.
Recommendation 8.23: NCSU should allocate funds, in addition to those available for merit increases, for substantial automatic adjustments when faculty are promoted to associate professor and professor.
According to item 5-H of the Self-Study Survey of Faculty, almost 60 percent of NCSU's faculty are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their salaries. The dissatisfaction was slightly higher for nonwhite faculty (63.9 to 59.3 percent) and much higher for women (69.7 to 57 percent). The percentage of faculty dissatisfied with their salary also differed by rank, with 53.2 percent of full professors, 62 percent of associate professors, and 68.4 percent of assistant professors responding that they were very dissatisfied or dissatisfied. However, the greatest variation was among colleges, with dissatisfaction ranging from 20 to 84.2 percent of the faculty.
College*** Named professor Professor Associate professor Assistant professor Other faculty****
------- --------------- ------------ ------------------- ------------------- -------------
Agriculture & Life Sciences $79,863 (19) $55,393 (195) $43,482 (82) $38,057 (42) $41,615 (62)
Design -- $53,922 (14) $43,522 (11) $35,426 (8) $22,423 (16)
Education and Psychology -- $58,330 (19) $41,694 (34) $35,000 (19) $17,583 (31)
Engineering $88,145 (8) $72,617 (99) $53,324 (50) $45,721 (33) $42,100 (59)
Forest Resources $69,582 (3) $53,929 (25) $42,782 (16) $35,604 (5) $28,159 (11)
Humanities and Social Sciences $88,519 (2) $55,347 (76) $41,540 (99) $33,909 (71) $19,595 (233)
Physical & Mathematical Sciences $113,499 (1) $63,326 (100) $44,301 (51) $38,003 (26) $28,532 (48)
Textiles $78,225 (5) $63,727 (13) $51,635 (8) $44,406 (9) $22,453 (9)
Veterinary Medicine -- $69,880 (30) $52,515 (40) $46,631 (19) $36,636 (23)
University Average $81,920 (38) $60,203 (541) $44,437 (351) $37,694 (213) $26,521 (471)
Data compiled by Office of University Planning and Analysis.
* Full-time faculty who hold academic rank in the department and were active on September 30, 1991.
** Headcount for each class in parentheses.
*** The College of Management is not included in the 1991 data because it was not formally established until July 1992.
**** Category comprises faculty members less than .75 FTE, lecturers, instructors, visiting faculty, adjunct, and emeritus personnel.
Data on faculty salaries at NCSU for the past five years show that the percent increase has been 21.4 percent for named professors, 15.5 percent for professors, 13.5 percent for associate professors and 13.9 percent for assistant professors (table 8.16). However, average salaries actually decreased from 1990-91 to 1991-92 for all ranks except named professors. Furthermore, the real decrease is more than is reflected in table 8.16, because the data are not adjusted for inflation.
The General Administration of The University of North Carolina regularly compares the salary and compensation of NCSU faculty who meet AAUP selection criteria with the faculty of other major research institutions (table 8.17). According to the American Association of University Professors survey, the salary of all ranks of NCSU faculty is rated 3, indicating that salaries fall between the fortieth and sixtieth percentile in comparison to other doctoral-granting institutions. The total compensation rating is worse, and NCSU's assistant professors have recently dropped to the fortieth percentile. Both the salary rating and total compensation rating indicate that the relative salaries and benefits of NCSU faculty have not increased as rapidly in recent years as the salaries and compensation of faculty at similar institutions, and thus, relative to our peer institutions we have fallen. If North Carolina State University is to retain a high-quality faculty, this relative decline in salary and compensation must be corrected.
Recommendation 8.24: NCSU should seek funding to reverse the relative decline in faculty compensation.
It should be understood that this analysis does not consider the effect of variations in scholarly contributions, which presumably contributes to salary decisions. However, there is no basis whatever in assuming that scholarly productivity to be different for women and minorities, and that raises the question of why a larger proportion of women and minorities are represented in the flagged group. The provost provides each academic dean with a modest amount of funds to address verified inequities. If immediate further study now being undertaken by the provost reveals that these funds have not been sufficient, means should be found to increase them to the level required to reach equity.
Recommendation 8.25: NCSU should make the necessary funds available for addressing verified inequities in salaries for women and minorities.
Year Named professor Professor Associate professor Assistant professor ---- --------------- ----------- ------------------- ------------------- 1991-92 $81,920 (38) $60,203 (541) $44,437 (351) $37,694 (213) 1990-91 $81,496 (40) $60,571 (524) $45,285 (348) $37,981 (236) 1989-90 $75,535 (37) $57,614 (521) $42,973 (361) $36,582 (245) 1988-89 $70,737 (35) $54,344 (528) $40,913 (361) $34,669 (237) 1987-88 $67,443 (37) $52,143 (527) $39,165 (368) $33,103 (263) Data compiled by Office of University Planning and Analysis
Participants in the Optional Retirement Program are vested after five years of service, but the program must return the value of the participant's and the University's contribution to both the participant and the University if termination occurs prior to five years of service.
IRC Section 401(k) Plan: All members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Optional Retirement Program are eligible to enroll in the Supplemental Retirement Income Plan created under Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k). All costs of administering the plan are the responsibility of the plan participants. No costs are incurred by the University except for a 5 percent employer contribution for the University's law-enforcement officers, which is mandated under General Statute 143-163.30(e).
IRC Section 403(b) and 403(b)(7) Plans: All permanent University employees who are at least half-time can participate in tax-sheltered annuity plans created under Internal Revenue Code Sections 403(b) and 403(b)(7). The employee's eligible contributions, made through salary reduction agreements, are exempt from federal and state income taxes until the annuity is received or the contributions are withdrawn. These plans are exclusively for employees of universities and certain charitable and other nonprofit institutions. All costs of administering and funding these plans are the responsibility of the plans. No costs are incurred by the University.
Federal Retirement: The Federal Civil Service Retirement System is a multiple-employer retirement system and is composed of two retirement programs: the Civil Service Retirement System for participants employed prior to January 1, 1987; and the Federal Employees Retirement System for participants employed after January 1, 1987. Both programs are defined benefit programs.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service employees with federal appointments prior to January 1, 1987, participate in the Federal Civil Service Retirement System (FCSRS). Currently, 460 employees participate in FCSRS. Participating employees and the University are required by federal statute to contribute 7 percent of salary to FCSRS. In addition, the employees may contribute up to 5 percent of salary to the Thrift Savings Plan (a defined contribution plan managed by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board).
Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), employees are required to contribute .8 percent of salary and the University 12.9 percent. Currently, seventeen employees participate in FERS. The University is also required to contribute 1 percent of each participant's salary to the Thrift Savings Plan, plus up to an additional 5 percent, depending upon employee's contribution, which can range from 0 to 10 percent of his or her salary.
Table 8.17
Quintile ratings for salary and compensation for faculty by rank at North Carolina State University, 1983-92, compared to doctoral-granting institutions (AAUP surveys)
Salary Rating Compensation Rating
Year Professor Associate Assistant Professor Associate Assistant
professor professor professor professor
---- -------------------------------- ---------------------------------
1983 3 3 2 -- 4 --
1984 2 2 1 3 3 2
1985 2 2 1 2 3 2
1986 2 2 1 3 3 2
1987 2 2 1 3 3 2
1988 2 2 2 3 3 2
1989 2 2 2 3 3 3
1990 2 2 3 3 3 3
1991 3 3 3 3 3 4
1992 3 3 3 -- -- --
Fringe Benefits
Only 13.3 percent of faculty responding to the Self-Study Survey of Faculty were dissatisfied with fringe benefits at NCSU. However, when questioned about individual fringe benefits, 49.5 percent of faculty were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with health insurance and 54.8 percent were dissatisfied with the dental insurance program.
Retirement Plans
Each permanent full-time employee, as a condition of employment, is a member of either the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System (TSERS) or the Optional Retirement Program [4.4.5.1]. The TSERS is a multiple-employer, cost-sharing, defined benefit plan that is administered by the North Carolina state treasurer. For the year that ended June 30, 1992, employees contributed 6 percent of gross wages and the University contributed 7.05 percent of covered wages. The Optional Retirement Program is a defined contribution retirement plan that provides retirement benefits with options for payment to beneficiaries in the event of the participant's death. Administrators and eligible faculty of the University may join the program instead of the TSERS. The Optional Retirement Program includes three authorized carriers (TIAA-CREF, Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, and Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company). Participants may allocate both the employee and employer contribution to one carrier or direct the two contributions to different carriers. For the year that ended June 30, 1992, participants contributed 6 percent of their salary and the University contributed 6.24 percent.
Deferred Compensation Plans
IRC Section 457 Plan: The state of North Carolina offers its permanent employees a deferred compensation plan created in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 457. All costs of administering and funding the plan are the responsibility of the plan. No costs are incurred by the University.
Health Care
The University participates in state-administered programs that provide health-care benefits to permanent employees working at least three-fourths time and to retirees. The University contributes 2 percent of covered payroll under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Optional Retirement Program for retiree health-care benefits. An optional group dental is available [4.4.5.1].
Long-Term Disability
The University participates in the Disability Income Plan of North Carolina. This plan provides disability income to eligible participants. Eligible participants are employees that are members of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System or the Optional Retirement Program. The University contributes 0.42 percent of covered payroll under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System and the Optional Retirement Program to the plan [4.4.5.1].
Death Benefit
After one year of membership in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, beneficiaries of employees who die while employed or within 180 days of the last day for which they were paid a salary are eligible for a death benefit. The benefit is based on salary with a minimum benefit of $25,000 and a maximum of $50,000. Benefits are paid from the Teachers' and State Employees' Benefit Trust Fund. The University contributes 0.16 percent of covered payroll under the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System to this trust fund [4.4.5.1].
Self-Study Table of Contents