OF RECORD

Salary Guidelines for 1998-99

The principle guiding our salary planning for fiscal year 1999 is to pay faculty and staff competitively, in relationship to the markets for their positions and prevailing economic conditions, including an inflation rate below two percent. Salary increases should acknowledge the valuable contributions of faculty and staff to the University, and should help Penn remain a strong and financially viable institution. With this in mind, the following guidelines are recommended.

Faculty Increase Guidelines

Although individual faculty decisions are made at the school level, with Deans issuing to Department Chairs their own guidelines regarding available resources, certain standards have been established to which we ask all Deans to adhere:

  • The minimum academic salary for new assistant professors will be $40,000.
  • Salary increases to continuing faculty are to be based on general merit, including recognition of outstanding teaching, scholarship, research, and service. As in previous years, there will be no minimum base increment for continuing faculty.
  • The pool for merit increases for faculty shall not exceed 3.5 percent. In cases where schools wish to make faculty members' salaries more competitive to meet market standards, Deans may supplement the pool, but this supplement must not exceed 0.5 percent without prior approval of the Provost. Salary increases for merit should range from 1.0 to 6.0 percent. Recommendations to provide an increase lower than 1 percent for non-meritorious performance or more than 6 percent for extraordinary performance should be made in consultation with the Provost. We also ask that Deans pay particular attention to any faculty who meet standards of merit but whose salaries for various reasons may have lagged over the years.

The Provost will review the Deans' faculty salary recommendations prior to their release to insure that raises on average reflect market conditions in each discipline.

Staff Increase Guidelines

The University recently completed the Classification Redesign Project, implementing the project's recommendations on April 1, 1998. The salary structure has been realigned to reflect the competitive labor market in which the University competes for its staff. All departments have received the results of the classification study and copies of the new salary structure.

The following guidelines should be followed when making staff salary increase decisions for the next fiscal year:

  • Monthly, weekly and hourly staff members (excluding bargaining units) are eligible for increases if they are in a full-time or part-time regular status, are not student workers, and were employed by the University on or before February 28, 1998. Due to revenue constraints, Schools and Responsibility Centers may find it necessary to generate funds for staff salary increases through administrative restructuring, managing staff vacancies and other cost-saving initiatives. Success in these initiatives will enhance a School or Center's flexibility in awarding competitive salary increases for high performance.
  • Performance is the primary basis for all staff salary increases. Salary increases should support and confirm the feedback provided through the performance appraisal process. Other factors, including budget availability and internal equity, will also need to be considered in determining salary increases. Given all of these considerations, increases for solid performance may vary but should fall generally in the 1.0 to 3.0 percent range. Salary in-creases should not exceed 3.0 percent unless performance is ex-ceptional; where performance substantially exceeds expectations salary increases may be awarded up to 6.0 percent. Where performance does not meet expectations, no increase will be awarded.

Salary decisions are among the most important that we make. We believe this year's salary guidelines will reward staff for their contributions to the overall accomplishment of the University's mission while helping it to remain a strong and financially viable institution.

--Judith Rodin, President

--Michael Wachter, Interim Provost

--John Fry, Executive Vice President


Almanac, Vol. 44, No. 31, April 28, 1998

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