Faculty Compensation Framework

EMU’s faculty members play an essential role in fulfilling the university mission.  They are accomplished professionals who meet the standards of their respective disciplines and professional associations.  EMU’s faculty compensation recognizes the faculty’s crucial role in the EMU mission and their status as professionals with specialized knowledge and skills.  EMU also has a long-standing and ongoing institutional culture of egalitarianism, valuing each person’s contribution to the learning community regardless of discipline or degree.  EMU faculty members are committed to the university’s mission, and are not primarily motivated by financial considerations.  Nevertheless, our compensation policies attempt to strike a balance between honoring our egalitarian culture and recognizing the role of market forces in recruiting and retaining strong faculty members.  The following principles of faculty compensation reflect these goals.

The EMU faculty compensation structure should:

• Provide an adequate standard of living at entry-level, with appropriate salary increases over time for experience, rank, and expertise.

• Encourage high-level performance and recognize differentials in achievement.

• Reflect a smaller compensation differential between entry-level and senior faculty than might be the case with some of our peer institutions.

• Provide deans with some flexibility to respond to market forces in recruiting and retaining a strong faculty.

• Provide internal equity through clear criteria for performance and transparent compensation procedures equitably applied.

• Respond to external equity data, recognizing limitations based on egalitarian values.  CCCU member institutions are the principle external benchmark for faculty compensation.

• Be flexible enough to achieve goals, while being applied in an objective non-discriminatory fashion.

• Be easy to understand and administer.

• Comply with state and federal employment laws.

Initial Placement on Salary Schedule

Placing faculty on the salary scale involves two major aspects: determining rank and determining the steps in a range from zero to ten. Following is a description of the procedure and the criteria.

Definitions

• Base salary: Dollar amount set annually against which all faculty salaries are indexed.

• Experience step: Incremental change awarded within any rank for periods of service.

• Discretionary step: Incremental change awarded within any rank at the discretion off the dean for distinctive performance or for market or internal equity.

Faculty Rank

Faculty ranks include Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. Initial rank is determined at the point of hire.  The criteria for rank are described under the academic rank and promotion procedures in a previous section of this handbook.

Procedure and Criteria Used to Determine Steps

A. Experience Steps. In this category up to four steps may be granted for experience at EMU. One step is awarded for each three full years of full-time university service, up to a maximum of four steps. 

B. Discretionary Steps. Additional steps may be awarded at the discretion of the dean and with the approval of the provost.  These steps are given to mark significant progress on performance criteria in teaching, scholarship and service or to recognize particular exceptional achievement in any of the three performance areas.  They may also be granted in response to internal or market equity concerns.   Discretionary steps are awarded at the discretion of the dean in consultation with the chair or program director.  Requests for discretionary steps may be initiated by any of the parties involved.  This will often occur following the annual performance review meeting between a chair or program director and the faculty member.  Recommendations for discretionary steps will be considered once per year during the preliminary budget building process. Normally, there will be at least a 2-3 year interval between discretionary steps.

Salary Schedule

Annual salaries are calculated by multiplying the university base salary (adjusted annually) by an index factor associated with a faculty member’s particular rank and step level.  The salary schedule includes three categories of compensation. Category 1 includes most faculty members in the arts and sciences and professions.  Category 2 includes a few disciplines where market factors and external equity pressures make recruitment and retention more difficult (currently business, nursing, engineering, computer science, counseling, and clinical psychology). Category 3 includes exceptional cases across all departments where special market circumstances or strategic considerations (e.g., diversity goals) justify higher compensation. The placement of disciplines in Categories 1 and 2 will be reviewed every five years (or earlier if necessary) by the Provost and VP for Finance in consultation with the President of Faculty Senate.

Index Schedule (base adjusted annually)

PROVISIONS:

1. Steps 1-10 include both experience steps and discretionary steps.

2. Experience steps are carried across promotions in rank.  Discretionary steps are reset at each promotion to the step nearest a 5% salary increase.

3. The Board of Trustees determines rank upon recommendation by the administration (initial appointments) and upon recommendation of the administration and Faculty Status Committee (promotions).

4. A full-time (9 months) salary is determined by multiplying the above level-step index times the established base.  Salaries for less than full-time persons who are classified by level and step (half time or more) are determined proportionately to the contract load. Overloading of faculty members should occur only in circumstances in which such an arrangement fits within the university budget and is agreeable to the faculty member. For ease of budgeting and salary determination, compensation for all overload teaching (that is, teaching hours that are above the standard full-time load of 24 hours within a 12-month period) should be calculated according to the Faculty Loading Guidelines.

5. Adjunct instructors are remunerated according to the Adjunct Faculty Salary Schedule available in the office of the provost.

Contract Period and Payment Schedule

Contract Period

The EMU faculty scale is based on a nine-month assignment from mid-August to mid-May. Faculty are expected to attend the annual fall and spring faculty/staff conferences scheduled in mid-August and early May, as well as other events that may be scheduled in May and late August. Faculty and departments are encouraged to use the first couple weeks of May for planning and curriculum work or other professional development activities. Graduate and seminary faculty should consult with their director or dean for possible alternative annual schedules.

Payment Schedules

Full-time faculty salaries are paid over a twelve-month period beginning August 31 of the respective contract year. There are several voluntary deductions that faculty may elect to have deducted from their paychecks. These include payments into an approved tax deferred plan, participation in the flexible benefits plan or dental plan, or a front-end contribution to EMU. In cases of special need, a faculty member may request a payroll advance. Advances will be deducted from the next paycheck to be issued.

Summer teaching and other special assignments for faculty are negotiated with the respective dean on a separate salary scale and arranged outside the regular nine-month contract. The maximum earnings of a teacher on assignment with EMU (teaching and non-teaching) during the summer shall be 30 percent of the annual nine-month salary contract.

Direct deposit is available to any bank. An authorization form (available from Human Resources or Payroll) along with either a voided check or deposit ticket needs to be turned into the payroll clerk. On each payday a form similar to a check stub will be distributed showing the gross to net calculations.

Termination of Contract

Conditions and Procedures for Termination

Cases of Incompetence or Misconduct

Upon the recommendation of the president to the Board of Trustees, a contract for a faculty member may be terminated for unsatisfactory service such as incompetence, neglect of duty, opposition to the mission and goals of EMU or the Mennonite Church, or ethical or moral misconduct. The faculty member so terminated, except as hereinafter noted, shall be notified of the termination in writing by the respective dean on or before January 15, to be effective at the end of the current academic year.

Notwithstanding the above, the Board of Trustees reserves the right to discontinue the services of any faculty member at any time due to extreme cases of incompetence, misconduct, or  neglect of duty.

Faculty who are the subject of informal (within the institution) or formal (legal) charges/allegations may be suspended from duties (with or without compensation) pending an investigation of charges/allegations.

Cases of Financial Exigency

The Board of Trustees, upon the president's recommendation, can also terminate a faculty member's contract under conditions of financial exigency. The faculty so terminated shall be notified in writing by the respective dean on or before January 15, to be effective at the end of the current academic year. In such cases: 1) Any decision that financial exigency exists will include the Provost's prior consultation with Faculty Senate; 2) New appointments will not be made in the same program for a period of three years, unless the released faculty member is offered reinstatement and a reasonable time to accept the offer, and; 3) Every effort shall be made to employ the released faculty member elsewhere in the university, as appropriate.

Financial Exigency policy approved by Academic Cabinet November 30, 2011
Financial Exigency policy approved by President' s Cabinet November 30, 2011

Appeals Procedure

Appeal in the case of a terminated contract must be initiated by the faculty member in writing within one month of the date of termination notice, such appeal to be addressed to the president. An ad hoc review committee shall be created at the direction of the president. The terminated faculty member shall select one member of the ad hoc committee; the Faculty Status Committee shall select a member. The president, provost, and the respective dean shall also serve on the ad hoc committee. The committee shall meet not later than one month after the terminated faculty member initiates the appeal. The ad hoc committee shall hold hearings and otherwise review the merits of the case. The verdict must be in writing and addressed to the faculty member in question. In the event the ad hoc committee verdict is contested, the aggrieved party may initiate formal grievance procedures.

Responsible party

The provost is responsible for this policy.

Policy Review

This policy is to be reviewed every three years.

Distribution

Employee Handbook