The Decline of Merit Raises in Higher Education

We hear about the economy all the time. It’s constantly on our minds. Sometimes it is hard to see the trees from the forest. What are some of the specifics that are plaguing our industry?

“At Texas A&M they are planning to save $11 million by not offering merit raises in 2011. They are also not filling vacant positions at this time to help save money as well. They are looking for a $28 million reduction in their overall budget over a two year period that began September 1, 2009.”

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas/texas-a-m-faculty-staff-could-see-merit-214763.html

The University of Michigan top paid executives did not accept merit pay raises for 2009-10. In light of the budget the University is facing, other faculty and staff have lower increases this year compared to last.

http://www.annarbor.com/news/university-of-michigan-employees-take-salary-freezes-and-lower-pay-increases/

So, it is very clear that most faculty and staff in Higher Education will not receive a raise, more specifically two-thirds of the schools surveyed in the 2009-10 survey by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources gave no raises to senior level positions.

“Several states instituted no merit increases for faculty at colleges and universities. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 39 state-funded employees were laid off to help offset an estimated $1.6 million budget shortfall, said Rochelle Sanders, UMBC’s director of compensation and benefits.”

“At the University of Washington in Seattle, the school’s budget was cut by 26 percent, 850 jobs were eliminated and branch libraries and writing centers closed.”

“We experienced the most extensive layoffs and elimination of jobs in decades,” said Randy West, associate director of compensation at UW, who added administrative staff did not receive raises last year. “We try and encourage administrators, managers and faculty to treat our staff with respect and tell them often how appreciated and valued they are. Saying ‘thank you’ goes a long way. We call that nonmonetary compensation.”

http://diverseeducation.com/article/13559/majority-of-administrators-receive-no-pay-raises-survey-says.html

Many universities are facing low morale because of examples like those listed above. So what do we do? What are you doing right now in your organization? Are you taking the time to tell your employees how important they are to you? Do you try to create an environment where this “crisis” is only temporary? Isn’t it common thought that the public sector lags behind the private sector? If the private sector is starting to rebound, wouldn’t that mean that the public sector should be rebounding next? So, there should be hope in our industry’s future!

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