coe-fac: Merit Increase Process for Eligible Faculty Bargaining Unit Members

[Mia Tuan]

Dear Colleagues,
As you know, the University is in the process of implementing the first ever Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for represented faculty. There are many moving parts to the CBA and the implementation work will be ongoing through this academic year and beyond. While institutional change of this magnitude comes with its share of bumps, we are all committed to working together to emerge a much more equitable, inclusive, and transparent organization.
I write today about implementation of the merit salary increases for FY14 for eligible represented faculty. (FY 14 includes the time period from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014)
In addition to the two retroactive salary increases (1.5% each), the CBA also specifies a merit pool equivalent to 2% of salary for eligible represented faculty, retroactive to July 1, 2013.
As part of the CBA, all faculty in the College will have an opportunity to respond to policies pertaining to the criteria used to determine merit increases.
The Provost expects to have the list of eligible faculty available to us by November 22. It is important to note that all faculty may not be eligible for across-the-board or merit increases due to a variety of factors, such as hiring date and/or whether or not you are represented by the Union. If you have questions concerning your eligibility, we suggest you contact United Academics for more information (uauoregon.org).
Because we are working from an abbreviated timeline this year, we have decided to submit the proposed merit criteria to all faculty members within the COE at once to facilitate timely feedback. Below we provide an overview of our proposed criteria and procedures.
In the College of Education, department heads are working with college leadership to draw from our already established review practices in framing the process for merit raise recommendations for FY14. The proposed process is as follows:

1.    Annual Review. Information from the most recent annual review routinely conducted by the department or research unit will form the basis of merit determinations. If no annual review is on file reflecting activities from calendar year 2012 or more recently, the faculty member will be reviewed according to established departmental/unit procedures. Generally, the procedure includes having faculty members submit written summaries of activities from the past year in distinct categories (e.g., teaching, research and scholarly activity, service and professional activity, and diversity enhancing activities). Summaries of activities may be supplemented through reference to particular sections of a faculty member's current CV. Please work with your department head to ensure that you have a current evaluation on file to assist in this process.



2.    One-time, Expedited Review. Faculty who are in positions that have not been subject to annual reviews in the past (e.g. practicum supervisors) will be evaluated by their supervisors using available data (e.g. student feedback/evaluation and field placement coordinators' feedback).



3.    Department  Head or Unit Director Ratings. For the purpose of the FY13-14 merit increases, the department head or research unit director will assign a global rating of the faculty member's performance, taking into account that faculty member's position description/duties, utilizing the following descriptors: Does Not Meet Expectations; Meets Expectations; and Exceeds Expectations. The global ratings will reflect relative weighting in terms of teaching, research, and service based on the specific position and job classification (e.g., for lecturer positions with primarily teaching responsibilities, performance in teaching will be weighted more heavily than research).



4.    Merit Increase Recommendation.  Only faculty who meet or exceed expectations will be eligible for a merit increase. The department head will make a recommendation for merit increase based on the global rating, and final adjustments will be made at the college level to ensure the proper accounting of the 2% merit pool. It is important to note here that the 2% merit pool for NTTF will be kept separate from the 2% pool for tenure line faculty to ensure that the full 2% is available to members of each respective group. The Provost or designee has final decision making authority regarding merit increases.
In order to meet the internal deadline of November 22, I invite you to provide your department head with your questions, feedback, thoughts, and concerns about this proposed process for FY14 merit increases for eligible represented faculty. Each department head will distribute information to their faculty about specific avenues to provide this feedback. Along with others in COE leadership, I will integrate your feedback as judiciously and respectfully as possible as we work in the College to finalize the process.
This is not the final word on how merit raises will be administered in our college. In fact, soon after we conclude these immediate implementation steps in the CBA, we will move to a more refined and deliberate process of working together with all faculty to clarify criteria for merit increases for FY15 and beyond.
As always, your collegial support in this process is much appreciated as we move forward together as an academic community.
Mia




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