The Back of Tuor's Head

From:






Dear Student:



The Management of the State System of Higher Education (State System) continues to work with the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) to achieve a fair and financially responsible contract agreement. The settlement must reflect the difficult fiscal reality facing the State System since our universities had to make $40 million in budget cuts this year. These cuts were necessary even though student tuition was increased by 5%.



Nearly half of the State System's $1 billion annual operating budget pays for faculty salaries and benefits. We hope this series of questions and answers will give you a better understanding of the State System's position on the issue of faculty salaries in the contract negotiations.



Why is management asking faculty members to accept a wage freeze in the first year of their contract?



These are difficult fiscal times for the State System and the Commonwealth. Faced with declining revenues, the Commonwealth reduced its appropriation for the State System in each of the last three years: a 0% increase in 2001-2002, a 3% reduction in 2002-03 and another 5% reduction in 2003-04. This occurred even though university enrollments increased by more than 6,000 students during the same time period. University costs have also continued to rise-especially in areas such as health insurance, utilities, library acquisitions and instructional technology.



Were the chancellor and presidents given salary increases just prior to announcing the wage freeze?



The last salary increases for State System managers with meritorious performance evaluations - including university presidents and the chancellor - were approved by the Board of Governors in October 2002 and were retroactive to July 2002.For whatever reason, the media chose to comment on administrative raises for the first time in January 2003, which has resulted in a perception that raises were given at that time. Faculty salary increases - which are not subject to performance evaluations - were effective at the beginning of the Fall 2002 semester, with an additional small salary increase at the start of the Spring 2003 semester.



Are other State System employees sacrificing a salary increase?



Yes, in August 2003, Chancellor Judy G. Hample announced a salary freeze at 2002-03 levels for all State System executives, administrators and managers. This wage freeze applies to all non-union employees, beginning with the chancellor and the 14 university presidents.



Earlier this summer, Governor Edward G. Rendell, acting on behalf of the Commonwealth, negotiated a new four-year contract with the members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and several other unions covering 60,000 state employees. Approximately 4,000 State System employees are members of the AFSCME union, which agreed to a wage freeze for 2003-04 as part of their contract settlement. 13,000 Commonwealth management employees also will have their wages frozen at 2002-03 levels. These wage freezes are part of the shared sacrifice that is needed in these difficult economic times.



Faculty members are upset about not receiving "step increases." What are those?



APSCUF faculty members receive pay increases based on negotiated across the board increases and years of service. A "step increase" is a pay increase based on length of service. This pay increase is in addition to the across the board increases that faculty members receive. The past contract between the State System and APSCUF provided for "step increases" at 12 different levels. That contract expired onJune 30, 2003. The expired contract provided step increases of 2.5 percent or 5 percent depending on where a faculty member placed on the negotiated 12-step pay scale. Due to difficult fiscal circumstances the State System, in its most recent contract proposal to APSCUF during the current round of negotiations, management's proposal does not provide a step increase for 2003-04. However, the proposal would provide for step increases to eligible faculty in 2004-05 and 2006-07. All faculty members - including those who would receive step increases - would receive across the board increases in 2005-06 and 2006-07.



If faculty salaries are not competitive, will the quality of my education suffer?



Keeping faculty salaries competitive with our universities' peer groups will continue to be a priority of management. The quality of education students receive could suffer if faculty members were not paid a competitive salary. State System faculty salaries, in fact, are very competitive. Faculty salaries rank in the 92nd percentile or higher nationally when compared with faculty at similar public colleges and universities, based on the American Association of University Professors' annual salary survey. Average salaries paid to State System faculty exceeded the national averages at all ranks, from instructor to full professor. The average nine-month salary for a full professor at State System universities is $86,950; $69,831 for an associate professor; $56,112 for an assistant professor; and $41,889 for an instructor. The State System wants faculty members to be paid well, and management takes pride in the fact that they are.



Do State System faculty members have other opportunities to boost their salaries?



Faculty members can earn more money by teaching overload - defined as each workload hour in excess of 15 during an academic term or 24 during an academic year. They can also earn more money by teaching summer school. In part as a result of such opportunities, the number of State System faculty members who earned $100,000 or more in a year increased 94 percent in one year, from 354 in 2001 to 688 in 2002.



The Board of Governors raised tuition 5 percent for 2003-04. Doesn't that mean there is money available to increase faculty salaries?



The State System's operating budget of more than $1 billion is funded primarily by student tuition: 38.5% comes from state appropriations; 12.9% from other sources (mostly fees); and the remaining 48.6% comes from student tuition. Pennsylvania's public universities currently have the 4th highest tuition in the nation. Even with the 5% tuition increase this year (which was modest by national standards), the State System experienced a $40 million revenue shortfall. Funding faculty salary increases for this year would necessitate additional student tuition increases. Management is not willing to burden students with additional tuition this year to give salary increases to anyone.



I see a good bit of construction on my campus. Instead of spending money on campus buildings, why can't the State System spend that money to increase faculty salaries?



The State System receives Commonwealth funding for capital improvements (buildings and expensive equipment) as a separate budget from the operating budget. Capital budget dollars cannot be used for anything other than construction projects that are specifically authorized by the Office of the Governor. None of the capital improvement funds can be used to cover employee salaries or other operating expenses of universities. Campus construction is intended to provide students with access to state-of-the-art classrooms and a learning environment that best assures their success.



For the latest updates on negotiations, please visit the State System's Web site at www.sshechan.edu/APSCUF.