| 15 percent raise over five years for BGSU faculty |
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| Written by JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN/Sentinel County Editor | |
| Friday, 22 March 2013 13:23 | |
The faculty voted to form a union in the fall of 2010, and announced Monday that the first contract had been agreed upon with administration. Some details of the tentative contract were revealed Friday on salaries, benefits, job security and shared governance. "We didn't get everything we wanted," Dr. David Jackson, president of the BGSU Faculty Association, said Friday. But he added, "There's more about it to like than not like." For example, faculty members will now know their salaries for the next three years. "So people are able to plan," he said. "We think the raises are fair," Jackson said. "We're trying to get BGSU salaries at least comparable to the other three corner universities," referring to Kent State, Ohio and Miami. The BGSU-FA hopes to have the text of the proposed contract finalized and ready to be released in its entirety by March 29. Then there will be a BGSU-FA meeting, open to all union members, the first week of April. Jackson said a vote on the contract will likely be held by mid-April. Only faculty union members may vote on the contract. The BGSU Board of Trustees are expected to vote on the contract at their May 3 meeting. Jackson is hopeful the faculty members will support the contract which has been endorsed by the negotiating team and union leadership. "It's a product of compromise," he said. "It's overall a good package." Some of the provisions in the contract include: Compensation • 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 raise: 6.5 percent total, combined, for these two retroactive years. All of the raise for 2011-2012 and most of the raise for 2012-2013 will be paid to faculty in a lump sum in the May 20, 2013 paycheck. All of this raise will be added to base salaries before the 2013-2014 raise. • 3 percent raises each year for 2013-2014, 2014 to 2015, and 2015 to 2016 (1 percent across-the-board, 1 percent for all faculty meeting or exceeding expectations according to unit merit evaluations, and 1 percent traditional merit varying by individual). • An additional fund of $1.8 million to be managed by the provost but with advisement on how to disburse the funds by a joint administration/BGSU-FA committee to bring BGSU salaries to three-corner average (Kent State University, Ohio University, and Miami University) and address salary compression and market equity issues. • Minimum salaries. For 2013-2014: $65,000 for professors, $55,000 for associates, $45,000 for assistants and senior lecturers, $40,000 for lecturers, and $35,000 for instructors. • Increases in promotion raises: $9,000 for full (currently $5,000), $5,500 for associate (currently $3,500), $4,000 for senior lecturer (currently $2,000), and $3,000 for lecturer (currently $1,000). • The 100 faculty being cut by BGSU get the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 raises above if they have been at the university since fall 2011. • Compensation for summer 2014 courses will be 1/34 of base salary per credit hour, and for summer 2015 will be 1/38 of base salary per credit hour. Job security and respect for non-tenure track faculty • Promotion policies for all full-time non-tenure track faculty. • Seniority system for non-tenure track faculty in the event of job cuts. Benefits • Individuals will pay 15 percent of health insurance premiums, families will pay 20 percent. • First-ever paid parental leave policy. • Spousal/partner hire policy. • Preserves many rights and benefits that faculty have had access to like tuition fee waivers for dependents. Shared Governance and Academic Freedom • Strong academic freedom language. • Shared governance language. • Joint BGSU-FA/administration committees to study the need for post tenure review and the costs of faculty improvement leave for non-tenure track faculty, respectively. • A joint BGSU-FA/administration committee will be established to consider ways to limit health care costs while maintaining coverage (coverage cannot be changed during the contract without further negotiation agreed to by both parties). Faculty Protections • A grievance policy with independent arbitration. • Fair share for all members of the bargaining unit, to ensure the BGSU-FA's ability to support arbitration, future bargaining and other faculty efforts. |
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| Last Updated on Saturday, 23 March 2013 08:06 |
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Comments
They always seem to get overlooked??
15% seems like a "Major" Jump in pay for the BGSU Faculty?
When I look at the wages of BGSU Faculty on the below site, I wonder if a 15% Increase is warranted?
Take a look at the below site and judge for yourself?
http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/higher-ed
Look in the Higher Ed $alary section by clicking on the box on the left side of page and select Bowling Green State University in the School (pull down). It will show you almost 5800 empoloyee salaries.
Very Interesting!
Are you saying that "Professors" who only teach maybe 3 classes a semester are worthy of a 15% wage increase and "Support Staff" who work 40 hours a week are NOT worthy of any wage increase???
Some "Reality Check"?????
Sure, you can find examples of professors who recycle old notes or who otherwise try to get by on the bare minimum, but slackers should not be the standard if you want to get the most out of your faculty.
In 2010, 382 BGSU Empolyees were paid over $80,000 and 198 382 BGSU Empolyees were paid over $100,000. That does NOT srike me as being "Under Paid"?
Your example of the "Hrs worked" by professors is ONLY "textbook"? We both know that there are many tenure faculty who DO NOT put in the office hours, research/publishing etc. In an ideal world maybe?, but I assure you that many are not as dedicated as you would have us believe.
!
Anyway, the work load calculations I presented represent expectations. My point is that you should judge faculty on their expectations, not on what they can get away with. If you presume that they are all slackers, then you wind up impugning the reputations of those who are doing what they are supposed to, and that is a lot more work than people in the non-university community think they do if all they count are the hours in front of a classroom.
Apples and Oranges???
15% vs 0% and downgrading classifications and in essence forcing the most experienced workers to retire is Hardley Apples and Oranges???
At least Real Apples have some similar features as Oranges!
It appears that You and Reality Check have little or no respect for the work that secretaries and support staff do for the faculty and students? (ie)If not for talented secretaries, many of your faculty would reveal their poor sentence structure and ability to spell in their writings and publications.
NEVER undervalue the importance of great support staff!
No, my point is that sadly, and nation-wide universities, public and private, treat faculty and classified staff as completely different categories. It's not my opinion; it's what happens. They have different negotiating units, and there are different issues involved.
The separate consideration of faculty contract and classified staff contract is a nationwide practice, at public and private schools, and at union and NON UNION schools.
The reason should be clear: faculty compensation is determined by competitiveness with peer institutions, judged regionally and nationally, because universities wish to attract the best faculty they can. Classified staff is almost always a local affair and deals with local agencies and unions.
It's a different scale with different requirements, and is treated as such everywhere.
Faculty need a contract whether there is a union or not.
Chris, I DON'T think any other University has EVER settled a contract with their Faculty of 15% and 0% for their "Classified Staff"???
Anyone familiar with the recent history at BGSU knows that there has been a concerted effort to force the most talented "Classified Staff" members into retirement. The University's version of "An Offer You Can't Refuse".
However, it is exceedingly rare that universities consider faculty contract and classified staff contract issues at the same time. Even where there is a union, it isn't the same union. (The AAUP is highly decentralized, with terms set on a campus-by-campus basis; it is more like a professional guild than a traditional union).
What you are really saying is: I REALLY ONLY care about the faculty since that is MY profession......
Interesting thing about you Chris is that you NEVER give on an issue and you always think your answer is the "Correct" Answer???
You need to realize that there are others who are also intelligent and have some ideas that are worthy of consideration?
I will let you have the last word, as I know you must.
You mischaracterize d the faculty pay situation at BGSU and complained that they were getting a raise (delayed by a 2-3 years, btw) when classified staff didn't get any. I was trying to explain that the two are not connected issues. And the fact that they are not connected is not a matter of my opinion, but just the way it tends to go on most campuses NATIONWIDE. Maybe your beef is with the entire institution of higher education in America. Maybe you feel that college faculty in general are a coddled pampered class of out-of-touch liberals. Maybe you just don't trust me to tell the truth about my own profession. Maybe all of the above.
There is a point when tuition costs are going to rise to a point when students are NOT going to be able to afford college ( maybe that is the case now?) students are accumulating loan debts that many of them will Never be able to repay!
As for your comparison of other Ohio Universities. In 2010 the number of Faculty making $100,000 or more at BGSU compared to Miami, Ohio U, UT, and Kent are pretty close. UT you need to take out the Medical College/UT faculty but the rest of the numbers are very similar.
Check it out for yourself on the buckeyeinstitut e.org stie.
Then maybe you should give it another view because as I read it they indicate Dept Chair etc adjacent to the salary?
Regardless, it IS the person's SALARY for that calendar year! Back to Apples and Oranges since that listing appears to be the same regardless of the university listing?
As I read it, your point eas that other universities in Ohio were paying higher salaries and BGSU salaries on the buckeye were inflated due to "extras" as compared to similar schools in Ohio? My point is that the site shows dept. chair etc for the schools and the amts shown are actual salaries for a given year, so in fact they are comparing apples vs apples.
Maybe there are additional reasons why their pay was what it was???? Economy plays a major role, in my opinion!
Chris, you have a History of being VERY Supportive of Unions AND University Faculty Members, not only in this LTE but in numerous others.
If the competition for the "TOP Faculty" were as high as you would have us believe, the Pay would increase on it's own without the need for "Union Intervention". My experience is that Unions, as they relate to Teaching are needed by the Teachers who don't perform at their highest level. As an former Administrator, I would do everything I could to keep that Talented, Accomplished, Successful Teacher.
When money it tight, you make adjustments and make sure you keep the most talented of faculty while those of lesser talent can be replaced.
Remember also that the union didn't even exist at BGSU before 2011, and was only approved because the administration was ALREADY refusing to consult with faculty on an increasing number of issues affecting them directly.
What is really happening when money is tight is that administrations are increasingly overruling faculty/college recommendations and making decisions strictly on financial terms with no regard for faculty quality or talent. That is definitely the case at UT.
Again, I have to believe that a University is going to do Everything Possible to retain their MOST Talented people. Those that find themselves in the "middle of the road" group they might find that they CAN be replaced and also may find that they are NOT in the same class of "DEMAND" that others are?
It may be that those currently in the work world have been spoiled by the salaries in today's market? 10/20 years ago those of us in the field of education worked HARD for salaries MUCH Lower than is being paid currently.
Currently the economy may not allow for the increases that we might love to see?
If the faculty is not making the adm aware of the accomplishments that they and their fellow peers are attaining then they are missing an important part of promoting their dept etc.
For instance, suggesting (trying to mandate) minimum class sizes of 30 for undergraduate classes and 15 for graduate classes, even in upper division classes. Not even OSU does that. And requesting justification for why any class has to be taught in a classroom and not online. (And this as Phoenix--their model--is foundering in real life). Even the writing intensive classes have had to "document" why they need to function with a ceiling (not minimum) of 25.
TOO Many Excuses Chris?
If there is DEMAND and NEED for your subject area and you are PREPARING Students for NEEDED CAREERS once they Graduate, then You have NO worry about your Importance and Need!
Sometimes Subject Area will little Demand are eliminated? Not sure if that is the case in point or not? Maybe?
There are majors on campus that bring prestige through students and faculty, which have excellent job placement records, where positions central to the accreditation of those departments are being rejected, despite extremely strong teaching evaluations, publications, and strong departmental and college-level peer recommendations , strictly because the upper admin wants to "redirect" the focus of the university. There is virtually no faculty consultation, and outside studies that are just numbers-driven are cited.
At some point, tuition costs are going to rise to a point when students are NOT going to be able to afford college ( maybe that is the case now?) students are accumulating loan debts that many of them will Never be able to repay!
You may not like it or even agree, BUT we are ALL going to have to learn to live within our means and can not expect "Big Brother Government" to take care of things that we MUST take care of ourselves!
They are ones about vision and definition of institutions going forward, and the tension between education and job-training as aims and values. Those universities that rush toward sacrificing broad educational values for the slogans of "job training" risk lowering the ceiling for what their students can achieve, and ironically cheapening the value of the degree.
Are students being prepared for a "REAL Career Opportunity?
Are their job opportunities once degree is attained?
Is the cost of one's education affordable?
If you define "real career opportunity" as producing someone who can follow directions but is incapable of critical thinking or thinking for oneself, what does one need college for? Is the student developing skills that lead to leadership, flexible response to change, and creativity, or in the interest of cost efficiency are we going to say that such skills are ok for people who can afford it but people who go to regional public universities simply shouldn't shoot so high.
As for the http://www.buckeyeinstitute.org/higher-ed site;
The salaries I refer to are 3 years old. One of the problems with the "contract" BGSU has with the faculty (ie) is that once you become and serve as a Dept Chair etc you retain that pay step even when you return to the "regular teaching staff". That does not make much sense? That needs to change.
The salaries on the Buckeye site are there for anyone to review and I feel many will have difficulty feeling sorry for those making those (2010) salaries when our economy is not doing very well?
Are BGSU Faculty members underpaid? Relative to what? The salaries appear to be pretty good (All things considered)
There have been serious issues affecting recruitment and retention as a result. It's very expensive to run a national search only to have your top candidates turn you down.
Also, note that it is a 15% increase phased in over 5 years, not all at once. Salaries had been lagging below inflation for the past several, with some freezes and especially lagging compared to the "corner universities" (actually BGSU ranked behind a lot of others besides). On the college level, there is also no such thing as the "step increases" often decried here.
I sense a resentment on your part for those who opposed the union and "support staff"? When I look at the salaries on the buckeye site, I have difficulty feeling sorry for the almost 400 staff members who made over $80,000 in 2010! Now that it is 2013, That dollar figure has Increased. I don't think the general public nor the parents of students at BGSU have much sympathy either!
But, if you re-read the LTE, you will see that lower level faculty do not make anywhere near $80K, and in many cases make less than K12 faculty despite having PhDs. There are tenured full professors who top out in the $60Ks, depending on the department. Again: Buckeye doesn't differentiate on the basis of rank. Another reason why some people make in the $80Ks is because they serve as assistant deans or department chairs, for a temporary boost, also not reflected at Buckeye.
I ask you: look up some of the profs who are making $80,000 and read up at bgsu.edu on their qualifications, what they have published, their credentials and national activities, how long they have taught, and see if you don't find yourself saying, "that person is very impressive; clearly we are getting our money's worth"
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