AAUP DATA SHOWS PASSHE FACULTY SALARIES WELL BELOW 90TH PERCENTILE OF SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Salary Chart
HARRISBURG - Each spring, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) releases a report on faculty salaries nationwide. One measuring method employed by the AAUP salary survey categorizes institutions as Category I (Doctoral institutions), Category IIA (Masters Degree institutions) and Category IIB (Baccalaureate institutions).
The majority (10 of 14) of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities fall squarely into the IIA category. Indiana University of PA confers some doctoral degrees, while Cheyney, Lock Haven and Mansfield are assigned to the Category IIB designation.
When compared with Category IIA institutions on a national basis, the PASSHE schools check in at the 73rd percentile when assigning the weighted average salary ($67,820) across all ranks of professors (Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor). The weighted average is computed by taking the average salaries reported by the PASSHE to the AAUP and weighting each rank according to the current Full Time Equivalent (FTE) of faculty at each rank.
The PASSHE’s Full Professors and Associate Professors fare the best among the four classifications nationally. Full Professors’ salaries rank in the 80th percentile, while the Associate Professors place in the 83rd percentile. The Assistant Professors and Instructors are not as fortunate, ranking at the 69th and 52nd percentiles nationally.
“As anyone can see, our faculty salaries are not at the 90th percentile nationally, and these national figures only tell part of the story,” State APSCUF President Pat Heilman said. “Pennsylvania is located in a region where education salaries are normally much higher than the national averages. For us to compete in a regional market for talented teachers, we should be over the 90th percentile nationally.”
Heilman pointed out that if the PASSHE is hand-picking various public institutions across the country and using that limited group for a salary comparison, they could make a case for themselves with the data. Such comparisons, however, are not realistic and do not reflect the challenges being faced by our PASSHE universities.
Close to home, a comparative look at Penn State University’s Category IIA branch campuses finds salary percentile rankings of 92% (Full Professor), 95% (Associate Professor and Assistant Professor), and 84% (Instructor).
“Our location places us in a hotbed of competition for faculty recruits,” Heilman stressed. “Our workloads are high in comparison to many schools, and other parts of our total package, which were strengths in the past, are now severely diluted.
“We used to be able to overcome the workload issues with new recruits by noting the 100% employer-paid health benefits and our competitive regional salaries. My, how times have changed!”
Indeed, adjusting for inflation since fall of 2002, PASSHE faculty members have improved their financial position by only 2.8%. Also, faculty members are currently paying 10% of their health insurance premium costs, and those premiums are rising each year.
“The PASSHE just isn’t as attractive as it used to be,” Heilman remarked. “We need to turn the tide and position the PASSHE more favorably so that we can once again win the faculty recruiting wars.”
APSCUF’s current contract with the PASSHE expires on Saturday, June 30. A first-ever strike is possible if a new pact cannot be achieved.