For Release October 10
Board of Regents to Address Salary Competitiveness
Rapid City—Today, meeting on the campus of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the Board of Regents reviewed an issue paper on salary competitiveness. The system faculty salaries are 16.6% behind faculty salaries at similar institutions in neighboring states. Also, the non-faculty employees’ salaries trail over 21% behind the salaries of their peers in near-by, similar institutions. Besides trailing other states in salary, South Dakota institutions are also behind competitors in the total benefits available—health and retirement. In total compensation, after considering the cost of living differences, the South Dakota institutions are behind the regional average by 22%.
Public University Compensation
Avg. Public University Faculty Salary |
Avg. Salary Plus Benefits |
Adjusted Compensation* |
|
| Idaho | $45,199 |
$50,267 |
$44,510 |
| Iowa | $55,522 |
$64,921 |
$61,348 |
| Minnesota | $60,309 |
$67,528 |
$66,682 |
| Montana | $39,784 |
$44,260 |
$45,457 |
| Nebraska | $52,393 |
$60,756 |
$60,039 |
| North Dakota | $37,923 |
$45,234 |
$45,338 |
| Wyoming | $46,418 |
$53,943 |
$49,837 |
| Average | $48,221 |
$55,273 |
$53,316 |
| South Dakota | $37,170 |
$40,886 |
$41,427 |
*NOTE: Adjusted for cost of
living and per capita taxation.
SOURCE: 1996 Chronicle of Higher Education
Earlier, the Board asked that several alternatives be proposed to address the salary competitiveness problem. The problem is compounded by indications that, after several years of decline, the market for university and college faculty will tighten in coming years. This is supported by the fact that faculty employment advertising was up 11% last year, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Regents’ President David R. Gienapp said, "This is an issue that we must deal with head-on in order to maintain quality at our public universities by keeping experienced and skilled teachers in South Dakota. The numbers clearly show that we, as a state, are not competitors and this is troubling for the future of South Dakota."
A number of proposals were introduced in the report and all are based on a three-year phased plan calling for an increase above the state’s salary policy ranging from 7.15% to 10.68% in CSA exempt salaries. The increases would be funded through a combination of full-time equivalent (FTE) reductions in positions and tuition and fee increases.
The following table summarizes the various proposals and their impact.
Summary of Salary Competitiveness Proposals
3 Year Salary Enhancement |
3 Year FTE Reductions |
Avg. Total Student Cost Increase Per Year |
|
| Staff Plan | 10.68% |
107.0 |
4.24% |
| Gienapp Plan | 10.68% |
114.5 |
4.06% |
| Hansen 50 Cent Plan | 10.68% |
149.7 |
3.10% |
| Hansen 1 Dollar Plan | 10.68% |
192.4 |
1.93% |
| Half Tuition, Fee & FTE Plan | 6.07% |
71.6 |
2.12% |
| Half Tuition & Fee Plan | 7.15% |
98.2 |
2.12% |
Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry said, "Clearly making the right decisions on personnel is the most significant issue facing the Board of Regents when considering the impact that these decisions will have on the future of South Dakota and its universities. Being competitive for the best possible talent in national searches is not a luxury; it is a basic requirement for our very survival. We need to be as aggressive in solving the financial competitiveness problem as we are in telling candidates for our positions about the virtues of living in South Dakota."
"It is important to be mindful that a hiring decision about a faculty member is critical to the educational experiences of our young people," Perry added. He explained that a faculty member will teach approximately 8,000 students over a 35 year career in South Dakota. "We need to make sure we can hire the very best faculty for these students," he said.
Perry added, "The reductions that are included in the competitiveness proposals will in most cases simply bring the system in line with the decline in students. The student-to-faculty ratio for the system will continue to be at a reasonable level, similar to that of other public universities."
Perry explained, "Non-competitive salaries can cost the system more money when considering the opportunities that good young faculty have to leave South Dakota for other positions. Not only do we lose some of our best talent, but also it costs us money every time we have to advertise and search for new faculty. Our turn-over for faculty with less than six years of service was 15% last year."
Gienapp said, "This indicates that brand new Ph.D.s are coming here to get some experience and then are leaving for greener pastures. For South Dakota to realize the full potential of having quality professors and their expertise right at home we need to be prepared to pay the going rate." He finished by saying, "With current conditions, we can take steps to deal with this problem effectively within the system. Given other pressures and demands on state government it is unrealistic for us to expect any significant increase in state appropriations. Nevertheless, we must take action to avoid a future where South Dakota only falls further behind our neighbor states in competition for good faculty."
The Board will decide which course of action to pursue at its next meeting at South Dakota State University in Brookings, December 11-12.