Z-Term Instructional Staff (P&A)
Compensation Guidelines
Compensation Program
The College of Liberal Arts (“CLA”) seeks to maintain a sound, efficient, and flexible compensation
program for CLA Z-term instructional staff through the development of compensation plans for the
academic departments. All compensation plans use the same formatting; but plans’ content is unique in
regards to Teaching Specialists’ and Lecturers’ duties and responsibilities, level of credit courses taught,
hiring criteria, current pay practices, and compensable factors.
Integrity of the Program
Final approved compensation plans reside in Intersections. Administrators will be able to hire Z-term
instructional staff (job codes 9753 and 9754) without completing an Academic Hiring Authorization
form (AHA) if an approved plan is in place. Administrators will have authority to make hiring and
compensation decisions for these appointments. With this authority, administrators are also
responsible and accountable for the integrity of their department’s program. Chairs and
administrators are expected to enter appointments within the compensation rates listed in the
approved compensation plans. In setting compensation, note that Z-term instructional staff
positions are non-tenured, non-benefit eligible positions.
Effectiveness of the Program
To measure the effectiveness of the program, human resources will occasionally monitor the hiring
practices and pay rates for Z-term instructional staff.
Purpose
The purpose of these guidelines is to create structure and guidance for administrators when CLA
Z-term instructional staff is employed.
Scope
These guidelines apply to all Z-term instructional staff employed at the College of Liberal Arts.
Appointments
Initial Appointment/Hire
The level of pay for initial appointments should be set through careful review of:
CLA-HR reserves the right to change or discontinue this program at its discretion.
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Compensation Guidelines – Page 2
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Position classification salary ranges
Required qualifications
Level of knowledge, skills, abilities, and specialized knowledge
Scope of work, size, complexity, importance and visibility of the position and
other job-related criteria
Analysis of employees in similarly situated positions (internal equity),
including prior experience, seniority and performance
Other compensable factors, when and if appropriate
Salary Increases
Z-term instructional staff is excluded from flat dollar amount increases, but are eligible for merit
increases. However, since they are classified as Professional and Administrative (P&A) and
University policy requires annual performance evaluations to be considered for merit increases,
supervisors are responsible and highly encouraged to ensure completion of annual performance
reviews for their Z-term instructional staff. Assessment of merit should reflect measurable
performance outcomes as defined by the job description and other job-related criteria.
Compensable Factors
While overall pay practices should be consistent and non-arbitrary, specific compensation practices
for a given unit or employee group may differ based on specialized knowledge skills or abilities. For
example, an organization may decide to pay more for unique expertise, critical jobs, high credentials
and reputation, for finding candidates that are typically difficult to find and other factors that were
identified by the units during the job analyses. When hiring Z-term instructional staff, departments
may use the compensable factors they identified during the development of the compensation
plans to set pay and justify pay differences.
At the same time, offering overly individualized compensation can result in compliance risks.
Inconsistent pay practices could violate the Equal Pay Act or other federal or state law.
Compensable factors are part of a sound compensation system, but must be applied consistently
and legally.
Process for Submitting and Keeping Compensation Plans Current in Intersections
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Uploaded and approved compensation plans reside in Intersections
Administrators use Intersections to hire Z-term instructional staff (Job codes 9753 and 9754)
Administrators contact Human Resources when they need to make changes to their plans
Human resources navigates through Intersections and approves the plans within the system
CLA-OIT ensures Intersections is supported operationally
CLA-HR reserves the right to change or discontinue this program at its discretion.
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Compensation Guidelines – Page 3
Summary
The goal of these compensation guidelines is to provide administrators with a flexible and yet
defensible way to set pay levels according to the Initial Appointment/Hire guidelines established in
page 1 of this document.
While all CLA positions are important and contribute to the success of the University, some positions
are more valuable than others, and a strong case can be made for setting pay differently for different
positions, once values have been identified.
Approved: November, 2012 by CLA HR
CLA-HR reserves the right to change or discontinue this program at its discretion.
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