Pay increases need to be implemented for entire staff

A new policy was recently recommended by the Academic Senate and approved by Cal State Long Beach President Robert Maxson for the Performance Salary Increase to recognize outstanding or meritorious performances by faculty and staff. This is not what CSULB needs.

The criteria used for the PSI is based on performance during the three years prior to the application for such an award. Candidates must demonstrate outstanding performance in two areas: student growth and development, and professional and disciplinary contributions.

Examples for the first include development of instructional materials and advising, mentoring and supervision of students.

Examples for professional and disciplinary contributions include leadership in professional associations and the publication, exhibition and performances that advance knowledge.

Additional criteria, such as a summary of student evaluations, would also be used. College review committees of faculty members and deans from the different colleges will have input in deciding who gets PSIs.

Each college committee would suggest awards beginning with applications categorized as "strongly recommended" and followed by "recommended," until 85 percent of the funds for the PSIs are expended.

The deans will allocate the remaining 15 percent for additional raises for candidates recommended by the committees or for candidates not selected by the rest of the committees.

Maxson would then receive all recommendations and distribute funds accordingly.

With such a system, faculty or staff who are deserving of an increase and have been recommended for a PSI might be shut out because all the funds might be depleted.

In addition, a problem might arise if academic deans recommend faculty members for a PSI even if they have no strong recommendation for an increase.

This could possibly lead to undeserving staff members, as seen by the rest of the committee, receiving PSIs even if their performance is poor.

The PSI was conceived in good faith but it allows room for the passing over of qualified applicants.

Also, professors and staff who have been at CSULB for less than three years are ineligible for a PSI regardless of merit since only achievements while employed at CSULB would be considered.

What is needed is an across-the-board increase for all faculty and staff. As The Academic Senate Chairman David Hood said, most faculty members would much rather have a cost-of-living increase instead of being subjected to a performance review.

With minor exemptions, most professors, coaches, counselors and librarians deserve raises. Their work here is beneficial to all students and should be rewarded for it.

Professors who are that intent in obtaining a PSI might be so caught up in making professional and disciplinary contributions to the university to show they merit a PSI, that they may fail to pay attention to the immediate needs of their students.

Michael Luevano is a reporter for the Daily Forty-Niner.