| Of Record |
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April 13, 2010,
Volume 56, No. 29
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Salary Guidelines for 2010-2011
The University of Pennsylvania’s merit increase program is designed to recognize and reward faculty and staff by paying market competitive salaries in a fiscally responsible manner. The merit increase amount for fiscal year 2011 is based on the economic status of the University, fiscal responsibility and market trends.
As detailed in President Amy Gutmann’s economic update on December 16, 2009 to the University community, the difficult economic times in the US economy have required that the University continue its cost containment initiatives. The University’s adherence to fiscal discipline during the past year enables us to have a merit increase pool to recognize faculty and staff contributions. The merit increase has greater impact this year given that inflation was -0.4 percent for the US economy in 2009. This gives University employees the opportunity to gain ground and for their salaries to be more market competitive.
In light of prevailing economic conditions and the constraints they place on salaries, the following general principles should apply: (a) increases should acknowledge the valuable contributions of faculty and staff while helping Penn to remain a strong and financially viable institution; (b) increases should be merit-based as supported by the performance appraisal; (c) schools and centers should not award across the board increases; there should be a normal distribution of raises; (d) there will be no bonuses in keeping with the elimination of discretionary bonuses; and (e) some schools and centers may have smaller (or no) merit increase pools for staff and faculty due to financial constraints. With this in mind, the following guidelines are recommended.
Faculty Increase Guidelines
Presented below are the standards for faculty increases that the deans are asked to follow. The deans will give the department chairs their own guidelines at the school level regarding available resources.
• The minimum academic salary for new assistant professors will be $57,400.
• Merit increases for faculty should be based solely on performance as evidenced in their scholarship, research, teaching, and service to the University and the profession. As in previous years, there will be no cost of living increase for continuing faculty.
• The aggregated merit increase pool for faculty may not exceed 2.5 percent, with the range for individual increases from zero to 3.5 percent based on performance. Salary increase recommendations that are below 1.0 percent for non-meritorious performance, as contrasted with general limits applied to an entire class of faculty, must be made in consultation with the Provost. Likewise, salary increases that exceed 3.5 percent due to market conditions must also be made in consultation with the Provost. Deans may wish to give careful consideration to salary adjustments for faculty who have a strong performance record, but whose salaries may have lagged behind the market.
• A number of schools and centers have financial constraints that can only support budget growth of less than 2.5 percent. These financial constraints will affect the salary increase percentage that can be awarded, and may in some cases require holding salaries at current levels. Some schools may announce limits on salary increases for an entire class of faculty; for example, a decision to provide no increase, or capped increases, to faculty members earning more than a certain income. This information will be communicated separately by the school or center’s administration.
Staff Increase Guidelines
Presented below are the merit salary increase guidelines for staff for July 1, 2010.
• This year’s aggregate salary increase pool is 2.5 percent with a range of zero to 3.5 percent maximum. Some schools and centers may have financial constraints that can not support a merit increase pool or only support budget growth of less than 2.5 percent. These financial constraints will affect the salary increase percentage that can be awarded. This information will be communicated separately by the school or center’s administration.
• Monthly, weekly and hourly paid staff members are eligible for a merit increase if they are a regular full-time, regular part-time or limited service status employee, and were employed by the University on or before February 28, 2010. The following groups are not covered under these guidelines: student workers, interns, residents, occasional and temporary workers, staff on unpaid leave of absence, staff on long-term disability and University staff who are covered by collective bargaining agreements.
• The merit increase program is designed to recognize and reward performance. Salary increases should be based on performance contributions within the parameters of the merit increase budget. The foundation of this program is the Performance and Staff Development Plan. The performance appraisal system documents the employee’s performance and contributions and establishes performance goals for the new fiscal year. All employees must receive a Performance and Staff Development Plan for the next review cycle whether or not they receive a merit increase. The schools and centers are requested to submit performance appraisals by June 1, 2010. The Division of Human Resources’ Staff and Labor Relations office is available to discuss performance management issues.
• Merit increases should average no more than 2.5 percent unless a school or center establishes a lower percentage merit pool based on financial considerations. The aggregated salary pool may not exceed 2.5 percent regardless of performance rating distributions. Performance expectations should be raised each year as employees grow in experience and job mastery and should reflect a normal distribution of ratings for all employees. Those with unacceptable performance are not eligible for a merit increase.
The Division of Human Resources’ Compensation office is available to discuss specific merit increase parameters with schools and centers. Staff and Labor Relations is available to discuss performance management issues.
This year’s salary guidelines have been designed to recognize and reward the valuable contributions of faculty and staff to the University’s commitment to the highest levels of excellence in teaching, research and administration.
—Amy Gutmann, President
—Vincent Price, Provost
—Craig Carnaroli, Executive Vice President |
