Changes to the salary review procedures that were negotiated in the last round of bargaining are in place for the process just getting under way. Soon information about the total sum of money available to Departments and Colleges will come from the President’s Review Committee, if it hasn’t already.

The changes, aimed at improving both the process and the reasons for the award of special increases, are significant. They are intended to improve openness and transparency and allow the flexibility to award special increases across the entire range of faculty duties. Read   Article 17 for   the details.

There is a requirement for departments and colleges to have standards for the award of special increases based on provisions of the Collective Agreement (Article 17.2). Be sure your standards do not contain provisions that inadvertently violate the Collective Agreement.

Salary review committees are mandatory (Article 17.3). There is no longer the opportunity to choose to have Department Heads or Deans make recommendations for the award of special increases. At the same time, the new procedures allow departments to award special increases and not just make recommendations for an award.

The salary committee for a department, or non-departmentalized college, includes a minimum of the Department Head, or Dean, as chair and three eligible employees. You can have a larger committee or even a committee of all eligible members in your unit, but your committee cannot be smaller.

In addition to awarding special increases, department salary committees may also recommend faculty to the College Review Committee for an additional award and recommend an award to a faculty member who would have received an award from the Department if there had been enough funds available for the Department to make the award. College Review Committees award special increases and may recommend faculty to the President’s Review Committee for an additional award. The salary committee for a non-departmentalized college awards special increases and may recommend faculty to the President’s Review Committee for an additional award.

Department salary committees may award either one-half or one full special increase. A college salary committee or College Review Committee may award up to two special increases. The Presidents Review Committee may award either one-half or one full special increase. At least two-thirds of awards made by a committee must be full special increases and a faculty member may receive a maximum of three full special increases annually.

College Review Committees review rankings, decisions and recommendations of salary committees in the college for consistency and appropriateness. The results of the review must be communicated to the salary committees.

Committees need to report. Department and college salary committees must report their rankings, decisions for awards and recommendations as well as the reasons for awards and recommendations to employees. College Review Committees must report to Salary Committees in the College.

For this year and next there are extra funds available for the salary review process. This is because implementing the new process was delayed by one year and all of the “new” money was divided between the last two years of our three-year Agreement (2011-12 and 2012-13).

If you have questions or are unsure about the new salary review procedures, contact the USFA office.