Higher Gains
Jan 1, 1998 12:00 PM, Joe Agron
When it comes to monetarily rewarding administrative titles, colleges and universities are more likely than their school-district counterparts to award higher percentage pay raises. National average salary increases for 1997 were 3.6% at 4-year institutions and 4.7% at 2-year colleges, compared to 3.4% at school districts and 4.3% for officials at private-sector companies, according to American School & University's 13th Compensation Survey.
At both 4-year and 2-year colleges, salary increases primarily were based on overall budget determinations, cost-of-living adjustments and competitive practices.
Information for AS&U's report was compiled from an in-depth survey mailed to 1,000 chief business officers at 2-year colleges and 1,000 chief business officers at 4-year institutions. Questions explored salary and benefits practices for seven key management positions, with professor used to gauge compensation relationships among the administrative titles. Usable returns were received from 10.1% of 4-year colleges and 12.5% of 2-year institutions, with 56.4% of the 4-year responses coming from private institutions and 88.8% of 2-year responses coming from public colleges.
The eight college positions surveyed include: *President. *Chief Business Officer. *Chief Development Officer. *Chief Facilities Officer. *Chief Purchasing Officer. *Director of Security/Safety. *Director of Housing. *Professor.
Bonuses and perquisites Mirroring their school-district counterparts, higher-education institutions are not particularly favorable to offering bonus programs. In 1997, 5.0% of 4-year colleges and 4.8% of 2-year colleges offered bonus programs. Both these numbers are down from the 5.7% and 5.2%, respectively, of institutions that offered bonus programs last year.
When asked if they were contemplating instituting a bonus program in the near future, 7.4% of 4-year and only 1.7% of 2-year colleges responded that they were. Rewards at both the 4-year- and 2-year-college level most often were made on the basis of a combination of overall institution performance, department/unit performance and individual executive performance. At 2-year colleges, discretionary bonuses were awarded quite often.
College administrators report a generous number of perquisites as part of their total compensation package. Among the most popular at both 4-year and 2-year colleges are professional development, professional association membership, tuition for dependents, and the ability to make outside income. In addition, a variety of post-retirement insurance plans are offered, including full- and partial-paid medical/hospital, dental and life-insurance programs.
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