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It would take $6.82 million to bring faculty salaries at Carolina up to the
top 20 percent of salaries now offered at all comparable public universities,
according to a consultant's analysis presented during a Board of Governors Nov.
18 workshop.
Another $4.69 million would be needed to raise Carolina faculty pay to an
equal level with a select group of its peers, the report said.
The numbers for University faculty were generated as part of an overall salary
study of the 16-member UNC system developed by consultants from MGT of America
Inc. of Tallahassee, Fla.
The N.C. General Assembly assigned the Board of Governors the task of studying
faculty salaries for the entire 16-member university system and then come up
with suggestions on how much faculty pay should be raised at each university
and where the money would come from to do it. System schools were asked to
submit proposals on the issue to General Administration as part of that
effort.
Three funding sources possible
UNC President Molly Broad said the directive from the General Assembly
recognizes that faculty is the most important resource a university has to
carry out its mission.
"Being just average is not where the University of North Carolina should be,"
Broad told board members. "This is about maintaining and enhancing the academic
excellence of our program."
In January, the Board of Governors will hold another workshop to present a
tentative plan to determine what mix of revenues should be used to pay for the
salary increases.
However, Broad pointed out that there are only three possible funding sources
that can be considered: more money from the General Assembly, more money from
tuition increases and private donations.
In February, the Board of Governors is expected to approve its recommended
budget and tuition schedules to forward to the General Assembly.
While highlighting the main points of the MGT study, Broad talked about a
"two-pronged approach" to funding that would start with the $28.2 million
needed to raise the 16 campuses to the top 20 percent of comparable public
universities.
Broad said this $28.2 million could be viewed as "part one" of a funding plan
that the General Assembly could be expected to meet.
A combination of tuition increases and private donations could be the way to
generate the additional $13.77 million that would be needed to raise the
faculty salaries of nine of the campuses up to the top 20 percent of salaries
offered among peer groups selected by MGT.
In its proposal submitted to General Administration, Carolina recommended a
tuition increase of $1,500 over five years for all students except those
enrolled in professional schools. That proposal has prompted complaints from
students.
In light of those complaints, Broad announced that the Board of Governors will
hold a hearing on Dec. 2 to hear student concerns about tuition increases.
If the General Assembly fully funded the $28.26 million, the average salary
for faculty members at Carolina would be $79,956. The average salary at
Carolina would climb to $84,119 with an additional $4.69 million raised through
tuition increases and private donations.
The tuition increase that has been proposed for Carolina by the University's
Board of Trustees would generate $3.87 million a year for faculty salaries
starting in the 2000-01 fiscal year.
The Carolina proposal also calls for $1 million in private gifts to be
generated each year for faculty salaries from 2001-02 through 2004-05.
Study supports Carolina's findings
Consultant Roy Carroll of MGT said the peer group that his firm used in
developing the numbers for Carolina was different than the peer group used by
the University in developing its proposed revenue package. But the conclusions
drawn about how much money it will take to bring salaries up to parity are very
much in line, Carroll said.
The peer group selected by Carolina tallied five privates and 10 publics,
including traditional public peers such as the University of California at
Berkeley, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the University of
Virginia.
Looking at salary only, it would take $14 million to bring Carolina salaries
up to corresponding salaries at Berkeley, Carroll said. It would take $8
million to bring Carolina salaries up to salaries at Michigan. And it would
take $5.4 million to bring them up to the salaries offered at Virginia.
In comparison, the MGT analysis showed it would take a total of $11.5 million
to bring Carolina salaries up to the salaries of the peer universities that MGT
selected.
These figures are for salary only and exclude faculty at medical schools. The
categories of faculty in the study are professors, associate professors,
assistant professors and instructor professors.
For the 1998-99 fiscal year, the average salary for professors at Carolina was
$88,705. That same year, the average salary was $65,171 for associate
professors, $51,188 for assistant professors and $45,585 for instructors.
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