Salary freeze?

July 11, 2018

Question 1: I heard there is a salary freeze going on, as in no raises are to be given. No one in my department has received a raise in years anyways. I also heard the president has hired a consultant to compare our pay to others at universities across the country. What is the purpose of this? We have been understaffed for years now. Less people expected to do the same amount of work if not more. No raises. No support. And now we're being told we make too much? Morale is so low at the university and now this just feels insulting.

Question 2: Are compensation adjustments (merit, retention, etc.) position classifications and other HR processes frozen until the compensation survey is completed? I haven't seen any communications (as of submitting this question) to deviate from existing UA policy and regulation from SW, but there seems to be a word-of-mouth rumor that is holding up various processes for weeks at this time (both increases and decreases in my unit's case). If so, when is the review scheduled to be released and more importantly actioned upon?

With no COLA adjustments in FY19, years of layoffs, a general feeling that UAF pays under market, the annual performance review period occurring, and employee morale recognized as a risk at the BOR level, is freezing compensation existing employees and freezing departments abilities to update PDs to what people are really doing a good step to take? Are the preliminary indications from the report that UAF is paying that far above standard to warrant such action?