APM UCD-620
In this Policy
Salary Administration
Section UCD-620, Policies and Procedures for Administration of Off-Scale Salaries
Approved: 5/2/02, rev. 3/20/07
Supersedes: 7/1/94
Responsible Department:Academic Affairs
Source Document:UC APM-620
Off-scale salaries may be approved to allow increased flexibility in salary administration for the purpose of recruiting or retaining faculty, while maintaining the integrity of the University of California salary scales. This document is a statement of campus policies and procedures governing the approval and administration of off-scale salaries.
As stated in APM-620, salaries should be on-scale to the greatest extent possible. However, it is recognized that certain conditions may justify salaries that depart from the standard salary scales. These include market conditions that command a higher salary than permitted by the University of California salary scales for a given rank and step, and retention situations where an individual has received an offer of a faculty position at a higher salary at a comparable academic institution. Off-scale salaries are granted under the condition that recipients will meet or exceed the normal standards for academic advancement, and are subject to review and regularization or renewal as outlined in Section UCD-620-18, below. An off-scale salary may also be used in the very limited number of cases of exceptional merit that cannot be adequately recognized through merit advances or accelerations. Off-scale increments granted on the basis of exceptional merit are governed by Section UCD-620-12, below.
a. Base salary--the annual salary specified in the UC salary scales (see Section UCD-690) for an academic appointee at a particular rank and step.
b. Off-scale salary--the total annual salary received by an academic appointee whose salary exceeds that specified in the UC salary scale for individuals at the same rank and step.
c. Off-scale increment--the difference between the off-scale salary and the base salary.
d. Regularization--the process of merging an off-scale salary with the UC salary scale via gradual reduction in the size of the off-scale increment.
a. Responsibility for recommending an off-scale salary or an increase in an existing off-scale salary for a particular faculty member rests with the department chair. Such recommendations are submitted to the dean of the school or college and must be accompanied by full documentation of the conditions that support the action. The dean has the authority to approve off-scale increments up to $100 less than one step in recruitment and retention cases, for faculty up to and including the rank of Professor, Step V, or equivalent eligible title. These actions must be reported to the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs. Recommendations for all other off-scale salary increments or increases in off-scale increments must be submitted through the dean, who will comment as appropriate, to the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs. Section UCD-620-12 governs off-scales for merit.
b. Responsibility for coordinating the review of recommendations for off-scale salaries and for making decisions regarding such recommendations (except as delegated to the dean as noted in Section UCD-620-6-a) rests with the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs. Requests for off-scale salaries or increases in off-scale salaries involving a salary increment of two steps or more and all off-scale salaries involving exceptional merit must be reviewed by the Committee on Academic Personnel (CAP) or equivalent review body. The Vice Provost--Academic Affairs is also responsible for the administration of the campus off-scale salary policy including apprising deans and department chairs of policies and procedures governing off-scale salaries, monitoring campus record-keeping and reporting practices on academic personnel with off-scale salaries, and informing deans of decisions in particular cases involving off-scale salaries.
c. Responsibility for funding the first-year increment when an off-scale salary is approved for recruitment or retention as outlined in Sections UCD-620-10-a(2) and 620-10-b rests with the dean/department. This responsibility for funding a given off-scale increment expires after a single year. In subsequent years, funding is provided from the central upgrading fund.
The criteria for judging the appropriateness of an off-scale salary for an individual faculty member include the following:
a. Market considerations
(1) Selected disciplines may, due to market considerations, command salaries in excess of those permitted by the UC salary scales for a given rank and step. The Vice Provost--Academic Affairs will be responsible for obtaining data on faculty salaries in selected disciplines at peer institutions. These data will provide the basis for reviewing off-scale salary recommendations based on discipline-based market considerations.
(2) Independent of discipline, some individuals may, due to market considerations, command salaries in excess of those permitted by the UC salary scales for a given rank and step. Review of recommendations for off-scale salaries in such cases will be based on the comprehensive documentation provided in those individual cases.
b. Retention
A faculty member may receive an offer of a position with a higher salary at a comparable academic institution. To retain the faculty member at UC Davis, it may be necessary to adjust the individual's salary through the off-scale salary mechanism. Documentation of the competing offer and its terms must be provided along with the recommendation.
620-12 Policy for off-scale salaries based on exceptional merit
Merit is normally recognized through the advancement process, including accelerated merit actions where appropriate. In a very limited number of cases, the advancement process may not provide sufficient recognition of particularly outstanding achievements. In such cases, a temporary off-scale increment of up to $100 less than one step may be approved by the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs. A recommendation for a merit-related off-scale salary is initiated by the chair, who consults with the department, then forwards the recommendation to the dean, who submits the recommendation to the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs. All off-scale salaries based on exceptional merit must be reviewed by CAP or an equivalent review body. The off-scale increment shall be in effect for a single merit cycle (two or three years), at which time the off-scale increment shall be removed. If an accelerated merit action is approved, the temporary off-scale increment shall be removed at the time the accelerated merit is put into effect.
620-18 Review of off-scale salaries
a. Policy
All off-scale salaries other than those governed by Section UCD-620-12 are granted and continued until the recipient reaches Professor, Step III, or the equivalent eligible title (see Section APM-620 for titles eligible for off-scale salary). An off-scale increment is limited to appointees continuing on the Davis campus and continuing in the academic series they occupied when the off-scale salary was approved. Recipients of an off-scale salary will meet or exceed the standards for normal academic advancement.
Individuals who have either (1) elected to be placed on the Davis Professorial Salary Scale (DPSS) or (2) who have been newly appointed to an eligible position covered by the DPSS or (3) are current appointees who have been placed on the DPSS because they did not hold an off-scale salary and meet the eligibility criteria for DPSS are not subject to the off-scale recovery provisions set forth in this section. For a complete description of the DPSS program, individuals should consult the following portion of the Academic Affairs website: http://academicpersonnel.ucdavis.edu/DPSS.cfm.
In addition, individuals whose off-scale is covered by a mutually agreed-upon MOU or who have agreed to other recovery terms are not subject to the off-scale recovery provisions set forth in this section.
b. Review mechanism
(1) Deferrals and denials--Continuation of an off-scale salary until an individual reaches Professor, Step III, or equivalent eligible title is contingent upon normal academic progress. Should an individual with an off-scale salary increment defer a merit review for one year at any time before advancement to Professor, Step III, or equivalent eligible title or be denied a regularly scheduled merit, the off-scale salary increment shall be reduced by 25% on the subsequent July 1. At the time of a second, consecutive deferral or denial of a merit review, the off-scale salary shall be reduced an additional 25% from the initial amount on the subsequent July 1. A third, consecutive deferral or denial shall result in a review and recommendation by CAP or an equivalent review body regarding regularization of the remaining off-scale increment.
(2) Subsequent to Professor, Step III, or equivalent eligible title--All new or renewed off-scale salaries for those at Professor, Step III and above, and equivalent eligible titles, are subject to the standard of normal academic progress. Individuals with regularly scheduled merit actions that are deferred or denied subsequent to Step III will have their off-scale increments adjusted according to Section UCD-620-18-b(1).
Deans/departments bear responsibility for funding the first year of a renewed off-scale salary increment as outlined in Section UCD-620-6-c.
c. Off-scale salary limitations
University policy dictates that normally no off-scale salary may exceed 10% above the on-scale salary of an academic appointee in the same series at the highest rank and step. In cases of individuals at senior ranks with large off-scale increments, this limitation may result in restriction of the salary growth that normally results from merit increases. Where appropriate and fully justified on the basis of the academic record, such individuals may be put forward for advancement to Professor Above-Scale.
d. Exceptions
In the event that a new salary scale is approved for a given academic series within a department, division, school, or college, individuals with off-scale salaries prior to the adoption of the new scale will receive a total salary equal to: (a) the salary associated with their rank and step on the new scale or (b) their original off-scale salary, whichever is larger. The off-scale increment is then redefined as the difference between their total salary and that on the new scale.
Authority to approve and to set off-scale salaries rests with the Vice Provost--Academic Affairs, except as delegated under Section UCD-620-6.
a. Base salary and the off-scale increment shall be recorded and reported separately in the Payroll System of each academic appointee with an off-scale salary.
b. Both annually and in each individual pay period, the base salary and the off-scale increment will be displayed separately wherever income and deductions are itemized.
c. Range adjustment of academic salaries shall also be applied to the off-scale increment. Based on rank and step, the percentage of increase will be applied to the off-scale increment as it is applied to the base salary, rounded to the nearest $100.
d. Dossiers submitted in support of a personnel action should contain no reference whatever to an off-scale salary. No "+" notation shall be added to the rank/step designation for individuals with off-scale salaries during merit or promotion reviews. Correspondence regarding off-scale salaries will be kept separate and apart from the academic review process, except as noted under Sections UCD-620-6-b and 620-18-b.
e. The Vice Provost--Academic Affairs will provide CAP with an annual summary of approved off-scale salaries.
f. The campus will keep the Office of the President informed on campus coding and reporting practices so as to facilitate and ensure accurate corporate reporting.