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September 28, 2017

Part-Time Faculty Salary Report Establishes Benchmarks for Addressing Pay Disparity

According to a recent analysis by the Office of the Provost, the average salary for part-time faculty on all Pitt campuses increased by 8.6 percent from $1,810 per credit in fall 2013 to $1,966 per credit in fall 2016. The report was presented at the Sept. 15 meeting of the University Senate budget policies committee.

The 8.6 percent figure falls to 4.6 percent when the analysis considers three salary pool increases that occurred during that time period.

The analysis of 574 part-time faculty members excludes adjunct faculty, who work in positions outside the University full time where they earn full-time pay and benefits, and faculty earning less than $1,000, among other classification exclusions. School of Medicine faculty members were also not included in the review.

The report, the result of a three-year collaborative effort between the provost’s office and University Senate, provides a benchmark data set, which can be used in evaluating where progress in increasing compensation has been made and where improvements are needed.

The lowest paid classification in the report is regional campus faculty, who saw a 14.5 percent salary increase since the last analysis. That increase demonstrates efforts by the provost’s office to rectify a concerning situation, according to Senate President Frank Wilson, who attended the budget policies committee meeting.

“I think that this increase between the years is substantial because I know what that reflects,” said Wilson. “This became an immediate priority, and the provost’s office did send the extra money to make the adjustments possible at the regional campuses.”

“When we first did the report and we saw the numbers in particular for the regional campuses, we made it a priority to start bringing academic initiatives dollars to bear to adjust those salaries because we are not happy with where they stand,” said David DeJong, executive vice provost. “We don’t think it’s good for the faculty. We don’t think it’s good for the students.”

Administrators said a variety of factors — including the level of education and training required and time commitments — are considered when recruiting for and setting compensation levels for part-time faculty. This has an effect on ranges in compensation across the different classifications for part-time faculty.

Part-time, non-adjunct faculty members in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences experienced the largest salary increase among the report’s classifications. Salaries rose 17.6 percent — 13.3 percent when adjusted for salary pool increases.

Salary pool increases are not applicable to all part-time faculty members, said Amanda Brodish, senior data analyst in the Office of the Provost. Brodish explained to committee members that while some schools adjust part-time faculty salaries according to the yearly pool increase that full-time salary faculty members receive, it’s not required that all schools do so for part-time faculty.

Other schools, including engineering, social work, education, information sciences, law, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and College of General Studies, increased 14.5 percent (10.3 percent adjusted) between 2013 and 2016.

Health sciences faculty, the smallest classification analyzed and the highest paid among all groups, saw the smallest salary increase (3.6 percent, -0.2 percent adjusted).

Overall, members of the budget policies committee expressed appreciation for the report, noting the long-term value of the research findings.

“One of the problems with the overall discussion about part-time faculty nationwide is that the data has been really difficult to come by, and this is one of the first examples I’ve seen that is in the ballpark,” said Wilson.

 

Contact:
Katie Fike, kfike@pitt.edu, 412-624-1085

 

Filed under: Feature,Volume 50 Issue 3

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