Market-based compensation for University of Idaho faculty was discussed at the UI Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday afternoon.
Vice-Provost Torrey Lawrence said a new tool is being rolled out Friday that will allow faculty to calculate their market and target salaries on VandalWeb. This is part of a university initiative to increase university employee salaries to average 100% of the market rate university-wide by 2025.
Patrick Hrdlicka, chemistry professor and chair of the faculty compensation task force that designed the salary calculation tool, said target salaries will vary based on market salary, how long a faculty member has been employed and faculty rank. Hrdlicka said the faculty compensation task force defined by UI’s market as all U.S. public and private doctorate granting institutions. Market salary are based on data the faculty compensation taskforce gathered about salaries in that market, he said.
Kim Salisbury, the academic budget officer, said not all faculty will make their target salaries, but that the university hopes to get all faculty members to their target salaries incrementally. She said faculty who are currently further away from their target salary will be prioritized and see higher percentage salary increases than faculty who are close to their target.
Hrdlicka said the tool will not result in any faculty salaries decreasing and will not interfere with raises based on promotion or other performance-related raises. If a faculty member is making more than their target salary, then they will not receive any percentage increases to their salary for market-based compensation purposes, but they will not be penalized in any way or have their salaries decreased, Hrdlicka said.
A table displaying breakdown of market rates by faculty rank and years employed is available on the provost website, Hrdlicka said. The tool will be available on VandalWeb Friday such that faculty will be able to see where they stand by comparing their current salary with their target salary, he said. Additionally, the site will include a FAQ for any faculty who are confuse, he said. If they have further questions, they can contact their department or the provost’s office, Hrdlicka said.
Gavin Green can be reached at [email protected]