Salary Equity Proposal for Faculty and IAS
2013-2014
The proposed plan seeks to increase the median of all department codes and ranks to
85% of their comparison group CUPA medians. Individual adjustments will be possible to
address extreme cases of inversion, compression, or other inequities. In addition, for
those who do not receive a salary equity base adjustment, a one percent lump sum
distribution will be made to individuals whose salary is below 100% of the CUPA median
salary.
On August 26, 2013 the Senate Executive Committee (SEC) received and reviewed several
possible proposals for distributing $300,000 for faculty and $70,000 for IAS salary equity
adjustments. The SEC then endorsed one as the basis for full Faculty Senate discussion. The
proposal endorsed by SEC is described in detail below.
Rationale
College and University Professional Association (CUPA) Human Resources codes and salary
data for peer institutions are used to determine how UW­L salaries compare. The data are
specific to rank and academic areas of specialization, and have been in use within the System
for many years. These data fluctuate over time and are often consulted when setting starting
salaries for new hires.
The proposal seeks to increase the median of all department codes and ranks to 85% of their
comparison group CUPA medians. Within the faculty ranks, there are currently 29 group
medians that fall short of 85% and there are an additional 15 groups under by 15% or more in the
IAS ranks. There are insufficient funds to bring all groups to 86% in the 2013­2014 academic
year, but 85% can be reached. The examples below illustrate how the base salaries would be
adjusted for particular groups of faculty. The list of all groups that are currently below 85% of
their CUPA peer medians are available here, along with the number (n) of individuals in each
group and the amount ($/person) each on the individuals in the group would receive to bring the
group median to 85%.
Additional funds will be available to address individual salary inversion and inequities that have
evolved over time within certain groups. Capping the equity adjustments for any one group at a
$4,000 maximum will reduce the amount allocated to that group, while at the same time, making
significant adjustments to their salary. The additional funding that would result from the capped
plan would be used for individual cases.
For faculty and IAS who do not receive a salary equity base adjustment, a one­time, one percent
lump sum distribution will be made to individuals whose salary is below 100% of the CUPA
median salary. Individuals receiving a salary equity base increase below one percent of their
salary will also receive a lump sum distribution equal to the difference between one percent of
their salary and the base adjustment.
Example #1
The current base salary for each of five UW­L Associate Professors from a given department
are listed in the table below. The CUPA median salary for Associate Professors in this particular
department code is $63,503. The actual median salary for the group is $52,299, which is about
82% of the CUPA median. The proposed plan would move the median for this group to 85% of
the CUPA median, which is $53,978 by giving each individual a base salary adjustment of
$1,679, resulting in the figures shown.
Faculty Members (n=5)
Associate Prof 1
Associate Prof 2
Associate Prof 3
Associate Prof 4
Associate Prof 5
CUPA code Median
Actual dept/rank
Median
CUPA Comparison
Base Before
Adjustment
50,378
50,487
52,299
55,438
58,604
63,503
$/person
Adjustment
1,679
1,679
1,679
1,679
1,679
52,299
82.36%
Base after
Adjustment
52,057
52,166
53,978
57,117
60,283
63,503
Base
Increase
3.33%
3.33%
3.21%
3.03%
2.86%
53,978
85.0%
Note: If the base adjustment needed to reach move the median to 85% of the CUPA median is
more than $4000, then the “Capped” version of the proposal would limit the adjustment to $4000.
Since, in Example #1, the base adjustment is under $4000, the capped version of the plan would
be no different. And, since the Base Adjustment is more than one percent of each individual's
salary, these faculty members would not receive a one­time lump sum distribution.
Example #2
The current base salary for each of five UW­L Professors from a given department code are
listed in the table below. The CUPA median salary for Professors in this particular department
code is $84,204. The actual median salary for the group is $70,679, which is about 84% of the
CUPA median. The proposed plan would move the median for this group to 85% of the CUPA
median (i.e. $71,574) by adjusting each individual base salary up by $895, resulting in the figures
shown.
Faculty Members (n=5)
Base Before
Adjustment
$/person
Adjustment
Base after
Adjustment
Base
Increase
Professor 1
Professor 2
Professor 3
Professor 4
Professor 5
CUPA code Median
Actual dept/rank
Median
CUPA Comparison
65,361
70,348
70,679
73,366
75,489
84,204
70,679
83.94%
895
895
895
895
895
66256
71243
71574
74261
76384
84,204
71,574
85.0%
1.37%
1.27%
1.27%
1.22%
1.19%