Frequently Asked Questions
PPI program (2009-10 cycle)
March 26, 2009
ELIGIBILITY
How was seniority determined?
A list of faculty members in the qualifying ranks (full professor, lecturer D, head coach, SSP/AR III,
librarian) whose salaries were over the SSI max was generated at the system level in August of 2008 and
sorted by date of hire on the campus. The date that came closest to splitting the group into two equal
parts was between the 1987-88 and 1988-89 academic years. We chose August 1, 1988 as the cutoff for
year 1. Everyone hired after that date but before July 1, 2008 is eligible in year 2.
What about those promoted into an eligible rank in 2008-09?
Newly promoted faculty members are not eligible. Note that anyone who received a promotion in 200809 also received a salary increase effective with the promotion.
What about retirees?
Those in retired status as of July 1 2009, including FERP and rehired annuitants, are ineligible.
What about PRTB?
Participants in PRTB are eligible.
What about people who could have applied in 2008 but didn’t?
Faculty members who were notified of their eligibility but did not apply in Year 1 are not eligible to apply
in year 2.
What about people who should have been eligible in Year 1 but were left off the list?
If the university inadvertently left someone off the list for Year 1, that person should be included as
eligible for Year 2.
What about leaves of absence?
If a faculty member was eligible but on leave in year 1 and asked to defer consideration to 2009-10, that
individual should be added to the list for 2009-10. However, individuals who are on leave now and
eligible for 2009-10 do not have the option of deferring consideration. If they wish to be considered for a
PPI, they must submit an application now.
Can someone have any SSIs left and be eligible? Is it necessary to back out FMI awards to determine
eligibility for PPI?
The program is intended for faculty members with no more SSI eligibility. However, the parties have
agreed that individuals who are over the SSI max but, because of FMI awards, have one or fewer SSIs
remaining, should be notified that they are eligible to apply. If a PPI is awarded, it will count against the
remaining SSI eligibility. If an SSI is awarded for 2008-09 or 2009-10 after awards in the PPI program are
made, the individual would receive the difference between the SSI amount and PPI amount, if any. (That
is, someone who was entitled to a full 2.65% SSI and received a 2.5% PPI would only be eligible for the
difference between the two amounts, or 0.15%. Campuses should exclude individuals over the SSI max
who have SSI counters greater than 1, as well as any individuals whose salaries are less than the SSI max.
The only exception is that individuals who have exhausted SSI eligibility because they received the full 8
SSIs (or 4 steps on the schedule in effect prior to the 1995-98 agreement, or a combination of the two
equivalent to 8 steps on the current schedule) would be eligible. This ought to be really rare.
APPLICATION AND REVIEW PROCESS
Who is responsible for notification?
We recommend that the Faculty Affairs/Academic Personnel office notify faculty members of their
eligibility as well as the local deadline for submission of the application to the department.
Who may serve on committees?
To serve on a department review committee, individuals must be tenured and hold the rank of Professor
(or SSP/AR III or Librarian.) A committee to review eligible Head Coaches should be formed from tenured
professors in related fields, such as kinesiology. Per discussions with CFA, full professors, tenured
librarians, and tenured SSP/AR III faculty (who are not being considered for PPI) may also serve on the
campus appeal committee.
What if no one in the department is eligible to serve because they are all up for awards?
Departments may go outside their departments and elect faculty members from related fields to the
review committee. While a person may not serve on a department review committee if s/he has
submitted an application in that department, s/he may serve on a review committee for another
department.
Are there any allowances for small campuses or campuses where everyone is eligible in year 2?
Yes. Per discussions with CFA, campuses that cannot accommodate the reviews as described in the
contract and the implementation guidelines may develop a process, with the approval of the senate chair
and the CFA chapter president, to accommodate their needs.
What documents, besides the two-page summary, may the department committee review?
The intent of the review process is that the two-page summary be the basis for the review. However,
assertions made in the summary may be verified by the review committee as appropriate.
Can the campus just tell people to only talk about activities since the last post-tenure-review?
No. The contract allows a person to discuss their entire history in the rank. However, the parties agreed
that information from the last 3 to 5 years is normally sufficient, and the campus can communicate that
to faculty members.
Can a “regular” tenure-track faculty member exclude areas from evaluation that fall within normal
areas of service?
No. The work assignment of a tenured professor is assumed to include all three areas of teaching,
professional development, and service, and as such all three areas should be included. However, an
individual on a specific assignment (for example a full-time department chair; a faculty member on
assigned time or grant-reimbursed time) might have a current work assignment that excludes or severely
limits one or more areas.
Can the President delegate authority to make awards or consult with campus administrators?
Yes.
Is the Appeals Committee obligated to hold hearings?
No. The review by the Appeals Committee is paper only.
Can the appellant provide supplemental documentation?
No, except that the appellant can provide a one-page statement as to why the appeal should be granted.
IMPLEMENTATION
Will there be a technical letter on implementation?
Yes.
Can individuals receive awards that take them over the salary maximum for the range?
Yes, although any salary over the maximum will not count toward CalPERS and the faculty member will
have to be so notified. Note that full professors and lecturer D faculty can now be appointed over the
maximum. If a campus has head coaches, counselors, or librarians who would be taken beyond the range
maximum due to the award, the campus should notify the Chancellor’s Office.
How will awards be handled?
Our intent is to implement changes effective with the July 2009 pay period, so as to avoid the need for
either retroactivity or lump sums. Awards made through the appeal process may necessitate retroactive
adjustments to base salary.
What happens if the Equity Program or other salary programs are subsequently funded?
We have an understanding with the union that we will preserve simplicity as much as possible. Thus, PPI
awards will not be recalculated in the event that Equity awards are made.
MONEY
How are the campus cost estimates determined?
Campus cost estimates are based on each campus’s share of salaries of eligible faculty members for year
2; the campus percentage is multiplied by the $7 million dollar system-wide obligation plus year 1 rollover to get an estimate of the campus obligation.
How much goes to salary and how much to benefits?
Of the $7 million, $5.635 million is available for salary; the cost of benefits is estimated to be $1.365
million. The roll-over will be allocated in the same ratio. You have been given a preliminary campus
breakdown of the salary and benefit estimated cost.
There’s another estimate out there, from Budget. Why is it different?
The CSU Budget Office costs programs according to the proportion of total faculty salary costs at a
campus, whereas the HR estimates are based on the eligible population. Since campuses differ in terms
of their share of eligible full professors and equivalents in the two years of the program, there are also
considerable differences in the two numbers in some cases.
Will the campus receive a separate allocation to cover this amount?
No. It must be funded out of the overall allocation to the campus.
Are we obligated to spend the full amount?
No. At the end of the program, campuses will be asked to report on the amounts spent. Any money
unspent at the end of year 2 is subject to negotiation; the contract states that unspent money will roll
into a June 30, 2010 GSI “unless otherwise mutually agreed”.
We have year 1 roll-over. Does that automatically apply to year 2 on my campus?
Once we determine the extent of roll-over, the system will re-calculate each campus’s share of the total
available pool. If there is roll-over, each campus’s new allocation will include a proportional share of the
total roll-over. Note that, because the program’s source of funding is the overall allocation to the
campus, not a line item for this purpose, the roll-over is on paper only; in other words, if a campus spent
$50,000 less than the year 1 estimate, the campus does not “give back” any money.
What if we want to spend more than our share (that is, exceed the campus budget?)
Our agreement with CFA is clear that the size of the pool is $7 million for each year, for a total of $14
million over the life of the program. In order to stay within those boundaries, individual campuses must
stay within their campus budgets.
Can the Appeals Committee award more than the salary dollars set aside for that purpose?
No. The Appeals Committee is limited to 10% of the campus’s share of the salary portion of the pool.
Note that for 2008-09, we had agreement with CFA that presidents could tap into the appeal pool for the
purpose of making sure that all individuals received at least the minimum awards provided in the
contract (2.5% for “meets expectations” and 2.75% for “exceeds expectations”.) We anticipate that the
same agreement will be in effect, if needed, in 2009-10.