QUESTION #18: HOW DO WE SET THE SALARY POOL AND DETERMINE RAISES WITHIN THE BUDGET? WHO DETERMINES RAISES, AND HOW DO THEY DO IT?
Salary percentage increases are recommended by the Budget Steering Committee to the President, who in turn, recommends their approval to the Board of Trustees. The pool is computed by taking the current year's wage pool multiplied by the approved increases. The incremental increase in salaries/wages includes both merit increases and market adjustments. Individual merit increases are determined by department heads, subject to approval; individual market adjustments are based upon external comparisons and internal equity.
On the faculty side, the chair of each academic department prepares merit ratings for all faculty members in that department, using the annual activities report and updated c.v. that each faculty member has submitted. The Librarian of the College and the Chair of the Department of Physical Education submit their recommendations directly to the Dean. All other chairs submit their recommendations, along with the activities report and c.v., to a subcommittee of the Executive Council comprised of the three division chairs and the Chair of the Faculty. This subcommittee of the Council reviews the information on each faculty member and makes recommendations to the Dean on salary adjustments for each faculty member. The Dean customarily adheres closely to these recommendations.
The Budget Steering Committee is not involved with determining market or merit increases for any individual at Grinnell. Rather, the Budget Steering Committee focuses solely on the larger salary pools.
In next year's budget, there is a 5.25% increase in the faculty salary pool, plus an additional $50,000 to make some faculty salaries/benefits at the assistant professor level more competitive. There is also a 4.25% increase in the staff salary pool, plus an additional $50,000 market adjustment pool. These increases (including benefits) absorb roughly $1.4 million in additional revenue.
