Merit Pay (Faculty) Procedure - 63.04.06
College Policy Number/Title:
Howard Community College sets high standards for employee performance while recognizing the need for cost-of-living increases to help counteract the effects of rising prices in the economy. At the same time, and to foster and acknowledge excellent performance, the college adopted a system for determining pay that defines various levels of employee performance for faculty.
A cost-of-living adjustment is an increase in pay or benefits that often depends on the rising cost of goods and services. Any cost-of-living adjustment is added to the employee’s base salary annually. Merit adjustments are performance-based, one-time adjustments and are not added to the employee’s base salary; this adjustment is referred to as a non-base merit adjustment.
To attract and retain superior faculty and to maintain a competitive position, the college's board of trustees strives to maintain full-time faculty salary ranges within the upper one-third of full-time faculty salary ranges as compared with all other Maryland community colleges.
Cost of Living Adjustments
Cost-of-living adjustments are contingent upon available resources. Employee eligibility is as follows:
|
Hire date range |
Eligibility |
|
July 1 – September 30 |
Full cost-of-living adjustment |
|
October 1 – December 31 |
¾ of cost-of-living adjustment |
|
January 1 – March 31 |
Half of cost-of-living adjustment |
|
April 1 – June 30 |
Not eligible |
Adjunct faculty are eligible for a full cost-of-living adjustment, when available.
Non-Base Merit Adjustments
Faculty who earn a 2 or higher on a performance evaluation are eligible for a tiered non-base merit adjustment. Faculty who earn a 0 or 1 are not eligible for a merit adjustment.
Merit adjustments are contingent upon available resources and are detailed in the following chart:
|
Hire date range |
Eligibility |
|
July 1 – September 30 |
Full merit adjustment |
|
October 1 – December 31 |
¾ of merit adjustment |
|
January 1 – end of February |
Half of merit adjustment |
|
March 1 – June 30 |
Not eligible |
Non-Base Merit Adjustment for Faculty on Unpaid and/or Unprotected Leave
Faculty on extended periods of unpaid and/or unprotected leave during the year may have reduced merit increases, as outlined in the following chart:
|
Calendar Months Worked |
Eligibility |
|
Nine or more full months |
Full merit adjustment |
|
Six to eight full months |
¾ of merit adjustment |
|
Three to five full months |
Half of merit adjustment |
|
Two full months or less |
Not eligible |
Faculty Exceeding Maximum Grade Placement
Faculty who exceed the maximum of the salary range for their grade are eligible to earn additional pay, but any portion of pay that exceeds the maximum of the salary range will not accrue to the base salary. It is paid as a non-base adjustment with the base salary remaining at the maximum.
Effective Date: 7/1/23
President's Office Use: CHRO