Vassar College
PA-9: Employee Compensation

The faculty salaries are competitive with our peer institutions which are national in scope. Salary data is collected through the IPEDS data and AAUP salary surveys. Both surveys are national in scope and include salary by discipline and starting, median and maximum salary ranges based on faculty status. Administrative salaries are set by comparable salaries from CUPA data from peer, (smaller elite liberal arts institutions) schools as well as national CUPA data. Salaries are evaluated for internal as well as external equity. Collective bargaining unit hourly wages are negotiated using NY State Dept. of Labor data, local wages from local colleges and increases supported by the negotiation process. Though we do have employees of contractors as part of on-going operations on campus, we do not have any knowledge or say in the 'sustainable compensation' these contracted employees may or may not receive.

Depending the whether the position is faculty, staff or administrative, Human Resources and/or the Dean of the Faculty's office work with the Senior Officers committee to review and evaluate sustainable compensation of employees. The Senior Officers represent all aspects and departments of the College. In assessing compensation they utilize data from a series databases that provide comparison data for all higher education institutions. The largest of these databases is the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, for which participation is mandatory of all institutions that receive any Federal financial assistance program funding. For salaried positions we review sustainable and competitive compensation standards annually with respect to a grouping of 25 peer institutions in the general Northeast. For hourly wage positions, the union negotiated contract is above the 'living wage' for Dutchess County, NY and set annual increases are covered by the negotiation process, and thus meets the criteria for sustainable compensation.

The lowest paid regular employees start at $10.58. They receive health benefits, 9 days sick leave, 2 weeks vacation after one year, 13 holidays, 3 personal days, life insurance after 1 yr., access to amenities of any employee, e.g. gym, library, lectures, etc.

The lowest wage part-time employee now makes $9.00 per hour and moves up to $9.18 after probation. Part-time employees must work 20 hours or more to receive health care benefits. Sick time is accrued at a rate of four hours for every 346.67 hours paid up to 16 hours per year. If employees regularly work 20 hours or more they receive pro-rated benefits of full time employees.

We do contract that the temp. will receive the beginning salary that Vassar pays it's own staff. Temps do not receive any benefits from the temp agency.

Adjunct professors, teaching one course, are paid a flat fee of $6400 without benefits

For the 2013/2014 academic year, Student Employment positions started at $8.00/hour. On average, freshmen may work up to eight hours per week, sophomores up to nine hours, juniors and seniors 10 hours. *** Beginning December 31, 2013, New York State’s minimum wage increased in a series of three annual changes as follows: $8.00 on 12/31/13 $8.75 on 12/31/14 $9.00 on 12/31/15 Last year we increased the minimum student wage to $8/hr on 12/31/13. Rather than have to do this 2 more times in the middle of the academic year, we determined it was most efficient to increase the student wage to $9/hr for the 14-15 academic year.