USVI Public Records

Document text

UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS BOARD FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE Fiscal Year 2006 Employees’ Compensation Adjustment — Phase II Authorizing the approval of Phase II of the Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Compensation Adjustment for faculty and staff WHEREAS, the University is committed to establishing and maintaining levels of employee compensation that are sufficiently competitive to enable the institution to carry out its mission; and WHEREAS, the University is expected to develop and maintain fair compensation policies that respond to market changes, motivate high performance, recognize employee and job growth, are affordable to the university and comply with legal requirements; and WHEREAS, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit and retain employees at present salary levels; and WHEREAS, the overall salary levels of the University are generally below the salary levels of institutions with which the University competes for faculty and staff, and these lower salary levels are continuing to contribute to high turnover especially among the faculty; and WHEREAS, the University is cognizant of the impact of the relationship of employee salaries to external market rates and the need for market-based salary adjustments; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees directed the administration of the University to prepare an employee compensation adjustment plan for review and approval by the Board of Trustees in Fiscal Year 2006; and WHEREAS, on March 11, 2006 the Board of Trustees approved Phase I of the FY2005- 2006 compensation plan which was implemented on April 14, 2006 and cost the University approximately $2.4 million; and WHEREAS, under Phase II, the University, with the assistance of consultants with expertise in higher education salary analyses, determined that gaps exist in salaries between full-time UVI faculty and staff and the average salaries of similar positions in comparable institutions; and WHEREAS, in the Omnibus Authorization Act of 2006 the Government of the Virgin Islands appropriated $2.5M to the University for salary increases, of which $1M is available to address Phase II salary adjustments. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS AS FOLLOWS: A. The Fiscal Year 2006 Employees’ Compensation Adjustment Proposal - Phase II, as amended by the Finance and Budget Committee, a copy of which is attached as an exhibit, is hereby approved. However, the University reserves the right, upon g) EXHIBIT I All active full-time faculty and staff (regular, professional, administrative and executives) employed on or before October 1, 2005 who maintain continuous full- time employment up to the date the Board of Trustees approves this action and whose salaries have been determined to be below the urban average market salaries for the comparative group for their classification will receive the proposed adjustment to their base salary. An employee whose salary is equal to or is above the comparable urban average market salary will not receive any adjustment under this plan. Regular, full-time and part-time personnel who have been terminated, retired or voluntarily left the University prior to the Board approving this action are not eligible. Phase II addresses the challenges of recruitment and retention and is consistent with Vision 2012 in achieving institutional improvement and educational excellence. After reviewing the CUPA Public Urban Midsize institutions’ average salaries it was apparent that the compression in salary and reduction in competitiveness was most prevalent among faculty, middle management and the executive staff of the University. Contingent on the Board of Trustees’ approval at the September 2006 special meeting, Phase II will be implemented by October 31, 2006. Next Steps: Phase III Performance Incentive Program — A plan to award employees for excellence in performance is projected to be presented to the Board of Trustees for review and approval in February 2007. Points of Consideration: Be reminded that the University remains committed to a compensation adjustment for its employees that: 1. Strives for equity in compensation with persons in comparable positions at other workplaces in our defined job market, over a comparable period of time; 2. Strives for equity in compensation among University employees who are in comparable positions, with similar experience and performance histories, over a reasonable period of time; Applies accepted compensation practices that work well in most cases; Adapts to the reality of financial resources; Results in the hiring and retention of quality people; and Motivates excellence in performance. a