Staff Council (through the Compensation Committee) has been very active in attempting to change the university specific market (from 12 smaller schools to 10 larger ones) for the bi-annual salary surveys.  Closely related to this is the issue of bringing current salaries to target, rather than to minimums.  In a memo dated November 7, 2000, Staff Council asked President's Cabinet the following questions.  These are the responses we've received.

Q.  Why has no strategic plan for getting staff salaries to target been developed?

A.  The market salary survey process for staff is imprecise.  It is only used as a general guide for the Cabinet and individual Vice Presidents to set salaries.  The variety of staff positions, their corresponding titles and job descriptions, are quite different from faculty positions which are identified by ranks that are universally consistent.  Very reliable data can be obtained from a variety of universities for use as a precise target for faculty.  Such a situation does not exist with staff salaries.

Q.  When will a strategic plan for getting staff salaries to target be developed?

A.  Due to the constraints explained in number 1, there will not be one.  Again, to do so would imply a precision that is not there across-the-board for all staff positions.  It is still SWT's goal; however, to use the market salary survey results to make our salaries competitive with both the university-specific market and the local IH 35 corridor market.

Q.  Who will be tasked with developing a strategic plan for getting staff salaries to target?

A.  N/A.

The entire response is posted on the Staff Council's webpage as are the original June 30 and November 7th memos.  Please feel free to review them at http://www.txstate.edu/StaffCouncil/ for more detail.