Administration of Merit (GEN 2.1.)

Each year the Provost and Vice Chancellor, acting for the Chancellor, in consultation with representatives of the Faculty Senate, publishes general guidelines to be used for determining salary increments for the following year. These guidelines are based in part on directives issued by the Board of Regents consistent with decisions made by the state legislature. The process generally begins early in the spring semester (dependent on when information is available from UW System) with departments and units conducting evaluations of faculty and academic staff, and concludes when the Chancellor forwards recommendations to the Board of Regents as part of the annual budget submission. Each person is notified of salary for the coming year after information is available from the Board. The timing is often controlled by legislative budget action. The new salary generally goes into effect September 1 for academic appointees and July 1 for those on annual appointment. Agreements approved for the current Oshkosh calendar plan permit new salaries for academic appointees to be effective with the summer semester.

(1) Evaluation for Salary Administration.

Each faculty and teaching academic staff member shall be evaluated for salary administration at least every two years by their department or unit. A multiple year rolling average may be used. If a two-year evaluation was completed last year, an evaluation is not required this year. The results of this review will establish the merit component and/or eligibility for across-the-board salary adjustments for pay plans in the coming biennium.

(2) Colleges/departments shall establish a process for salary review and evaluation of: teaching, professional and scholarly growth and service. The process established must include the following:

(a) development and distribution to faculty and teaching academic staff of evaluation criteria which reflect department, college and university goals.

(b) criteria for evaluation of instruction which include guidelines for the consistent use of student evaluations, peer evaluations, and other evidence in judging teaching performance.

(c) a written feedback process that will be given to each faculty and teaching academic staff member; the feedback process will include face-to-face feedback with the unit head and/or unit personnel committee representative as part of the salary evaluation process.

(3) Newly hired individuals will receive a percentage increase for their second year equal to the average increase in the campus pay plan. If their department’s biennial evaluation occurs during the second year of employment, they will be evaluated on performance to date at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. If this evaluation will occur in the third year, an average increase will be awarded for year three. The provision for pay increase shall be included in the letter of appointment for faculty hires. The first merit review for newly hired faculty will consider all teaching, scholarship and service from the date of appointment.