Faculty and Academic Staff Handbook

19th Edition, 2008

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Chapter V: Compensation Procedures and Issues

5.3 Merit Rating - Procedures

The following rating procedures are to be followed:

1. New merit pay files for each person are to be developed annually because existing
   personnel files are confidential. Such files will be compiled by the supervisor or
   department chair. After the merit pay distribution is completed, the contents of the
   merit pay files will be transferred to the department personnel files.
2. The [committee, chair] of an academic department needs the following information
   for rating:
   (a) Professional achievement sheet provided by each person. This allows each
   person to present his or her achievements for the year.
   (b) Other data: student evaluations, peer evaluations, teaching loads, advisee loads,
   number of preparations, graduate courses, extension courses and other relevant
   information.
3. The Academic Staff Council is responsible for devising an instrument for reporting
   on and evaluating support personnel.
4. The [committee, chair, supervisor] shall place each faculty member into one of
   seven graded merit groups: A, AB, B, BC, C, D, and F. The following connotative
   adjectives may be considered in making this placement: A-excellent, AB-very
   good, B-good, BC-fair, C-adequate, D-poor, and F-unmeritorious. In the rare
   occasion that all unit members are placed in the same group, all merit distribution
   documentation must be forwarded to the appropriate administrative office, which
   will review the justification of the [committee's, chair's, supervisor's] decision. In
   the committee option, the ranking of each member of the committee will be
   determined by the other members of the committee. In the [chair, supervisor]
   option, the [chair's, supervisor's] rating will be determined by the [Dean, immediate
   supervisor] in consultation with unit members. In the committee option, the chair of
   the committee is to be elected. The [committee chair, department chair, supervisor]
   sends the merit pay ratings to the [Dean, appropriate administrative office] along
   with recommendations for special merit and equity adjustments.
5. The [department chair, supervisor] will meet with each unit member and review the
   results.
6. Merit funds are to be distributed by the following rules. Assign to each member in
   groups A, AB, B, BC, C, D, and F the respective group weights: 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5,
   2.0, 1.0, 0. The average salary of the unit is calculated by dividing the total salaries
   within the unit by the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions. An
   individual's salary weight is calculated by adding the individual's salary within the
   unit to one-third of the average salary of the unit (a part-time employee would add
   only one-third of the equivalent proportion of the unit average salary). An
   individual's merit weight is calculated by multiplying his or her group weight times
   his or her salary weight. An individual's normalized merit weight is calculated by
   dividing his or her merit weight by the sum of all of the individual merit weights. A
   unit member receives a merit amount equal to his or her normalized merit weight
   times the total merit pool of the unit.