The Staff Pay Equity Study examined classified staff salaries within the different job families and job titles at the University, with a focus on gender and under-represented minority status.
The purpose of the Staff Pay Equity Study was to determine if there are any systemic inequities, with regard to staff salaries and wages, at the University based on protected categories of gender and minority status. Factors such as years of service and system titles may impact pay, independent of factors such as gender and minority status, and were therefore used in the statistical analysis.
While this study did not focus on market, the University regularly analyzes and reviews UVM salaries and wages in the context of market to inform salary and wage levels. Depending on the nature of the market for particular positions, salaries and wages are compared to local, regional, or national benchmarks.
Dr. Murray Clayton, a professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Statistics and in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted the Staff Pay Equity Study. Dr. Clayton also conducted the Faculty Salary Equity Study. Vice President Wanda Heading-Grant worked closely with Dr. John Ryan, Director of the Office of Institutional Research, and other key colleagues to assist in the collection of data and to support the process moving forward as smoothly as possible.
The staff salary equity study was conducted during 2015 and completed in the spring semester of 2016.
Dr. Clayton defined the analysis, what data was needed, what variables would be included and how the analysis would be conducted. At the request of Dr. Clayton, the Office of Institutional Research provided data, responded to questions, and produced the statistical analyses related to the parameters of the analysis. Dr. Clayton then interpreted those results and has relayed them in his report.
Yes, you can visit the website http://www.uvm.edu/~salstfeq/?Page=report.html to view Dr. Clayton’s full report, the video presentation of his methodology, and a summary of the supplemental review within job classification titles conducted by Human Resources in collaboration with University business managers.
Dr. Clayton identified statistically significant salary gaps for gender and under-represented minority status present in three of eight job families that warranted further investigation. Further examination of these gaps considered additional factors beyond the scope of the statistical study, including education, total relevant experience, years of experience at and prior to UVM, special training and/or certification. There were two cases where staff salary adjustments were warranted. The departments and individuals have been contacted and appropriate actions have been taken.
Although no systemic inequities were found by the Staff Pay Equity Study, if you have concerns about your salary, you should address your concerns with your supervisor following established practices.
Though this question is not an issue that was addressed through the Staff Pay Equity Study, in order to understand the market value of a position, UVM benchmarks positions against like positions in nationwide and local surveys, and gathers anecdotal information at the time of hire about prevailing market conditions. By doing so, we are able to establish minimum, midpoint, and maximum pay rates for various positions. We also use this information to establish salaries/wages for UVM positions. Our goal is to set salaries/ wages at least at the mid-point of the benchmarked institutions.
Salaries are determined on an individual basis by the management team responsible for the position in collaboration with classification & compensation staff, taking into account the level of responsibility, the individual's education and experience, market data, and internal equity. Salaries cannot be set below the minimum of the pay band for the job classification. Salaries are set within a pay band that is determined by benchmarking against prevailing rates nationally and locally. In addition, internal equity is considered by comparing the body of work of the position in consideration to the work performed by existing employees in the same job classification, taking job related compensable criteria (e.g., impact of errors, breadth of responsibility) into account as well as employee related compensable criteria such as education and relevant years of experience.