Policy

St. Norbert’s pay plan policy combines objective measurement of job responsibilities with competitive market data analysis to create a pay system that is internally equitable and competitive. The policy provisions explain St. Norbert College’s base pay administrative procedures.

Scope – This policy applies to all regular full-time and regular part-time positions. For the purposes of this policy, faculty refers to visiting and tenure-track employees, not adjunct or those on a terminal appointment.

Staff Pay Plan – The St. Norbert College pay plan covering regular full-time and part-time staff includes pay ranges consisting of a minimum (87.5 percent), control point (100 percent) and maximum (120 percent) for all job classifications. The objective of the pay plan is to provide an appropriate salary structure to recruit, motivate, reward and retain St. Norbert College employees. Each position is assigned to the appropriate pay range based upon objective measurement of position responsibilities. Range control points are linked to market measurement. The college will monitor the economic environment and refresh the market data from the pay plan approximately every three years. Staff shall be paid no less than the minimum of the college-determined salary range for their position. Any approved increases will be calculated on base salary.

Faculty Pay Plan – The St. Norbert College pay plan covering full-time faculty includes pay ranges consisting of a minimum (90 percent), Control Point (100 percent), and a Maximum (110 percent) for all faculty ranks, with a goal that overall faculty salaries approach the control point. As with the staff plan, the objective of the pay plan is to provide an appropriate salary structure to recruit, motivate, reward and retain St. Norbert College faculty. Faculty pay ranges are determined by discipline based on CUPA national four-year college median salaries using an aged rolling three-year average. All faculty members shall be paid no less than the minimum of the salary range for their discipline. Any approved increases will be calculated on base salary.

• Terminal Contracts and Adjuncts - Faculty who receive a terminal contract or adjunct faculty are not included within this pay plan policy as they have separate contracts.

Responsibility and Administration – The President, Vice President of Business and Finance, the President’s Cabinet and the Director of Human Resources are responsible for determining the total annual amount available for salary adjustments. The Director of Human Resources is responsible for the overall administration of the pay plan. The college may retain the services of an external expert consultant to assist with plan administration. There is no guarantee that a salary increase will occur annually or on any other periodic basis as any increase is contingent on available funds and the Board-approved budget

Pay Periods – Pay periods are biweekly. Hours worked during a pay period are ordinarily paid the following Friday.

Deductions – Before any deduction from an employee’s pay is made, other than those allowed by law or court order, employees must authorize the deduction in writing. Payroll forms for authorizing a deduction are available in the Payroll Office and benefit enrollment or benefit change forms are available through Human Resources.

New Staff Employees – A new employee may be offered pay between the minimum and the control point of the salary range with the Director of Human Resources or their desginee’s approval. The college aims to hire new employees between the minimum and the control point of the salary range. If an employee is employed for at least six months prior to the general increase effective date and general increases are approved, the employee will be eligible for a general salary adjustment increase, provided they meet the provisions in this policy. For example, if the effective date is Jan. 1, the employee must be employed by July 1 of the preceding year to be eligible for a general increase.

New Faculty Members – A new faculty member shall be employed at a salary within the member’s pay range at a level appropriate for the new faculty member’s qualifications as approved by the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Staff Performance evaluation(s) – Performance evaluation reports are considered in personnel decisions affecting such things as compensation, promotion, demotion, removal, reduction in force, re-employment and training. Employees will need to have at least satisfactory performance to be eligible for an increase in their pay. Those employees who have been disciplined in the past 12 months will not be eligible for an increase in pay.

Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by both the Director of Human Resources and the Vice President of Business and Finance. In the case of the faculty, the Director of Human Resources, the Vice President of Business and Finance and the Vice President of Academic Affairs all must approve the exception.

Procedure

Salary Adjustments

• General – The pay plan will be reviewed annually to consider overall changes of salaries inside the college with the decision to be based upon the competitive market and the fiscal requirements of the college. If a general adjustment is awarded, it may be made either on a straight percentage basis, a flat dollar amount or a combination of the two.
• Staff Pay Changes
  
  • Staff may be eligible for merit awards that could be a straight percentage basis, a flat dollar amount or a combination of the two.
  • Off-Cycle Increase – Excluding promotions or demotions, the college does not provide off-cycle increases or decreases.
  • Transfers – Employees who have been employed for at least 12 months with at least satisfactory performance may apply for a transfer to a vacant position. There is no salary change for employees who successfully transfer within the same pay range.

Reallocation/Reclassification of Staff Positions
Position reclassification occurs when there have been logical and gradual changes in the regularly assigned duties or there has been a substantial reorganization within a department. A reclassification can also occur when a position is in a progressive series and the next position in the progression requires specific education and/or experience that has been attained by the incumbent. It is important to note that reclassifications can be downward as well as upward. The procedure to consider a reclassification is as follows:

• Job documentation – The person requesting a classification review shall work with their supervisor to complete a classification review form provided by Human Resources. The request must include a job description questionnaire (JDQ).
• Human Resources shall review the new JDQ to determine whether the changes to the duties are both logical and gradual or the result of reorganization. If Human Resources determines there has been a substantial change in duties warranting further consideration, then the position will be regraded. The request form and the JDQ may also be forwarded to the college’s consultant for evaluation and recommendation. The final decision will be the college’s responsibility.
• Logical and gradual criteria for reclassifications ensure changes to a position are a natural outgrowth of the initially assigned duties. A reclassification is not appropriate if changes result in the creation of a completely different position. New positions require competition for the position.
  
  • Logical changes occur when a position's new duties are reasonably related to the old duties. The change cannot constitute more than 50 percent of the position and still be considered logical.
  • Gradual changes take place when new duties are assigned over a period of time rather than abruptly. Typically, no more than approximately 25 percent of a position’s duties may change over a six-month period and be considered gradual.
• Position reclassification review requests may be submitted once a year no later than July 1 of any year. All requests will be responded to by the end of September. All approved reclassifications shall take effect when the college administers general increases.
• Positions cannot be reclassified within the employee’s first 12 months of employment or the employee’s first 12 months in a new job.
• Position reallocation may occur when changes to the position duties and responsibilities are logical but not gradual, the position has been previously incorrectly classified or as a result of survey implementation. If a position is divided, altered, abolished or combined, the position will be reallocated. An example of this is change resulting from technological advancements.
• When a position reclassification or reallocation results in a position being placed in a pay range that is one range above their current range, the employee shall receive a 5 percent pay increase or the minimum of the new pay range, whichever is greater. If the reclassification or reallocation results in a position being placed in a pay range that is two or more greater than the existing range, the employee shall receive 10 percent increase or the minimum of the new pay range, whichever is greater.
• Part-time and Seasonal Employment – Part-time (not regular part-time) and seasonal employees will be compensated at a rate established by the supervisor in consultation with the Director of Human Resources or their designee.
• Interim Assignment – Employees who are temporarily assigned to a position with a higher pay range than their pay range for a period of 30 days or more shall receive a 10 percent pay increase or the minimum of the higher pay range, whichever is greater; while they are performing the interim assignment. Note, the minimum for interim positions is 80 percent of the higher pay range. If the employee’s pay is above the maximum of the new pay range there will be no adjustment in pay. Employees who are temporarily assigned to a position with a lower pay range for any period will not receive a reduction in pay. Interim pay is paid biweekly and the calculation for life insurance or retirement does not include interim pay amounts.

Staff Promotion
Staff who have been employed for at least 12 months with at least satisfactory performance may be eligible for promotion. Promotions may be either within the same division or outside of their current division. A promoted employee, moving from one job classification to another having a higher pay range will be granted a salary increase between the minimum and the control point of the new range.

• Staff Demotions – Demotions may occur in lieu of layoff or they can be voluntary. Involuntary demotions must be approved in advance by both the Director of Human Resources and the Vice President of Business and Finance. The pay of the staff shall be their present rate if their present rate of pay is within the new pay range or the maximum of the pay range if their present rate of pay is greater than the maximum of the new pay range.
• Faculty Promotion – Faculty members who have been employed for at least 12 months with at least satisfactory performance may be eligible for promotion. A promoted faculty member going from one faculty rank to another having a higher pay range will be granted a salary increase of 10 percent or the minimum of the new range, whichever is greater.

Job Titles
Human Resources is responsible for leading the process of classifying staff positions and assigning job titles that are appropriate for the position responsibilities.

• Supervisor Responsibilities – complete or modify a JDQ for the position that required classification and titling.
• Human Resources – recommends a job classification and title.
• Approval – The Director of Human Resources, respective Vice President and the Vice President of Business and Finance will all approve any title changes.

Transparency
The college will provide the following levels of transparency.

• Employee – Classification, title, salary, pay range specific to the individual employee.
• Supervisors – Classifications, titles, salaries, pay ranges and compa-ratios specific to their unit.
• Directors – Classifications, titles, salaries, pay ranges and compa-ratios specific to their department.
• Vice Presidents – Classifications, titles, salaries, pay ranges and compa-ratios specific to their division.
• Human Resources, Payroll and Vice President of Business and Finance – Campus wide titles, classifications, titles, salaries, pay ranges and compa-ratios.

A compa-ratio is the relationship between employee salary and pay range control point. Pay range control points are determined by a statistical relationship between market estimates and job evaluation scores for benchmark positions. The college utilizes objective market analyses annually to determine the market-competitiveness of its pay plans.