NIU is looking to restructure how salaries are contracted for academic administrators to reduce cases of overpaid and underpaid administrators.

The restructuring will allow for salaries to adjust and reflect job responsibilities at the time. This will be done through the use of an administrative adjustment salary added to a base salary rather than an increase in base salary. When an administrator steps down from their contract, their salary can be reduced.

“The administrative adjustment is contingent on continued occupancy of the position and is forfeited upon return to the faculty,” said Provost Lisa Freeman at a Faculty Senate meeting Wednesday.

Freeman used her own contract to illustrate this.

In 2013, then-Provost Raymond W. Alden earned a base salary of $300,000. In 2015, Freeman earned $203,500.08 with $76,500.00 in additional compensation, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education website.

The $76,500.00 in additional compensation was the administrative adjustment.

If the former provost stepped down he would receive the same base salary of $300,000 for a departmental position.

“If I go back to the faculty, I don’t want my colleagues to resent me because I used to be a provost, because I will be doing the same job as them,” Freeman said.

The restructuring will look to address this by allowing fair placement into the department salary structure.

“Do I think we need to have this type of agreement for the departmental chair level, no, because I think we all understand that formula,” Freeman said. “But when I think you talk about deans and when you talk about provosts and presidents you absolutely have to have that structure.”

Faculty compensation will also be examined and additional compensation will be based on merit and can be retroactive, Freeman said.

Freeman said the last salary equity study was done in 2008 externally and a new salary equity study should be done soon.

“If we increase our data transparency so everybody can actually have confidence that the data [is] legitimate, should we be doing this on campus?” Freeman said. “Should it be a function in human resources? Should it be done on a regular basis? This is something we need to explore together.”