Faculty Policies (FAC)

Academic Faculty Merit Pay Policy

Policy Purpose

The purpose is to provide the criteria for merit pay eligibility, distribution, and appeals for Academic Faculty. NOTE: NSHE BoR Handbook, Title 4, Chapter 3, Section 25 (4) allows for separate merit policies for Academic and Administrative/Professional Faculty.

Policy Statement

  1. Merit pay eligibility shall be based on the faculty member’s evaluation rating, as per the Academic Faculty Evaluation Policy.
  2. Only academic faculty members receiving Commendable or Excellent Overall Ratings shall be eligible for merit pay.
  3. Merit pay shall be distributed as shares of the allocated Academic Faculty Merit Pay Pool (MPP) for that particular fiscal year.
  4. Merit Pay Shares shall represent a specific dollar amount determined by the funding of the MPP and the number of academic faculty who received Commendable or Excellent Overall Ratings for the applicable academic year.
  5. Merit pay distribution:
    1. During years when merit pay will be awarded, Academic Faculty who receive a Commendable evaluation rating for the applicable academic year shall each have one share of merit pay added to their base salaries beginning with July 1 of the applicable contract year.
    2. During years when merit pay will be awarded, Academic Faculty members who receive an Excellent Overall Rating for the applicable academic year shall each have two shares of merit pay added to their base salaries beginning with July 1 of the applicable contract year.
  6. Merit awards for all faculty shall be awarded in full, even if an award results in a faculty member’s salary being over the corresponding salary range/grade cap.
  7. Merit pay appeals:
    1. The Board of Regents Handbook provides: “If a merit pay determination is directly tied to the outcome of a faculty member’s evaluation review, then the bylaws shall provide that the same process is followed for both the evaluation review and the merit pay determination.”
    2. The Supervisory and Peer Review process in the corresponding Evaluation Policy shall serve as the exclusive Merit Pay appeals process.

Procedure

  1. For Academic Faculty:
    1. In the fiscal years when a merit pool appropriation is provided for Academic Faculty, a Merit Pay Share (MPS) will be determined by dividing the MPP by the sum of the number of academic faculty members who received, in the applicable academic year, an Overall Rating of Commendable (C) plus two times the number of academic faculty members who received an Overall Rating of Excellent (E). The formula is as follows:

      MPS = MPP / (C + 2E)

Authority and Cross Reference Links

Most Recent Changes

Version #2: Removed Administrative Faculty into separate Merit Pay Policy.

Version #1: Passed Faculty Senate; not approved by CSN President.

Disclaimer

The president has the discretion to suspend or rescind all or any part of this policy or related procedure(s). The president shall notify the appropriate CSN personnel, including the Executive Sponsor and shared governance leaders, of the suspension or rescission.

Questions about this policy should be referred to the Executive Sponsor.

Attachments

History

  • Version 2:
    1. Merit awards for all faculty shall be awarded in full, even if an award results in a faculty member’s salary being over the corresponding salary range/grade cap. (Sec. II E)
    2. Link for NSHE Procedures & Guidelines Manual updated.
    3. Link added for NSHE BofR Handbook, Title 4, Ch. 3, Sec. 25 (which allows for separate Academic and Administrative/Professional Merit Policies).
    • 05/15/2015: Approved by CSN President (M. Richards).
    • 05/15/2015: Reviewed by General Counsel (R. Hinckley)
    • 03/06/2015: Presented to Faculty Senate (J. Mandel)
    • 02/23/2015: Submitted to Faculty Senate Executive Committee (J. Matovina)
  • Version 1:
    • Not Approved by CSN President (M. Richards) due to a lack of process for Administrative/Professional Faculty. NOTE: That issue was resolved by the introduction of a new policy specifically for Administrative/Professional Faculty.
    • 05/02/2014: New Policy Submitted by Academic Faculty Merit Increase Committee and presented to Faculty Senate (T. Chodock)