Compensation Analysis At Institutions Of Higher Learning – By Dr. Jim Higgins, Ed.D.

For the sake of simplicity, most federal contractors begin their compensation analyses using a small set of easy-to-gather variables that common sense would indicate are likely to explain differences in pay. These include Number of Years On-The-Job, Age (as a proxy for experience), Job Performance, Highest Degree, etc. The assumption is that as values of each of these variables increase, an employee’s compensation is likely to also increase (i.e., as job performance goes up, compensation goes up.)

While this methodology makes sense for most jobs, one distinctly unique job that requires a very different approach is that of college professor. The factors that impact pay for college professors is very different from those of other jobs.

Whereas most jobs place a premium on experience, the opposite is true for the professor position. For most jobs, as tenure increases a variety of things occur. For example, the longer an employee is on the job, the farther they tend to advance up the salary scale. In addition, with experience there tends to be an increase in performance as an employee develops greater mastery of the job. Finally, older employees tend to earn more because they have had more time to develop additional job-related experience.

Things are much different with college professors. For these, those who received their degrees more recently tend to have more current skills and so receive higher pay. Academic union contracts often result in newer hires being paid more than those with substantially greater tenure. Differences in the quality of institution where a degree was earned is much more likely to influence pay than for non-teaching jobs.

An entire host of other variables that are unique to professors and academic professions are also critical in explaining employee compensation. These might include number of grants awarded, number of publications, and number of conference presentations.

These variables, and how they interact with each other to explain pay is also quite different for professors. If you would like to participate in a free Affirmative Action Services webinar focusing on compensation analysis in institutions of higher learning, add your name to our pre-registration list at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AASWebinar.

If your organization would like to discuss how Affirmative Action Services can help you with your OFCCP-compliance needs including, AAP development, Compensation Analysis, Pre-Employment Testing, or Audit Support, contact us at Info@AffirmativeActionServices.com.