Qualifying NIU faculty and staff will receive up to a 4 percent salary increase if a proposal is approved by the Board of Trustees.

The proposal, which NIU President John Peters will introduce, calls for a retroactive salary increase for qualifying faculty, support staff and civil service personnel.

Peters made the announcement on Tuesday in a campus-wide e-mail. The increase is a reward to the faculty and staff for their work, Peters said. In the e-mail, Peters said he has made his top priority to improve faculty and staff salaries.

The proposal will be brought before the Board of Trustees’ Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee at 10 a.m. in the Holmes Student Center’s Clara Sperling Skyroom and will be presented next month at the full BOT meeting for approval.

Cost for the proposal has yet to be determined, Peters said. Money to pay for the increases will be drawn from tuition and reallocations from existing budgets.

The proposal includes a mention of raising the minimum wage for hourly student workers to $6.50 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2005 in order to be compliant with Illinois law.

How do I know if I qualify?

Only faculty and staff employed on or before Dec. 31, 2003 are eligible for up to a 3 percent increase. Those employees, who will stay employed as of Dec. 31, 2004, will be eligible for an additional 1 percent raise as of Jan. 1, 2005. Employees who were hired as of Jan. 1, 2004 are not eligible to receive a raise.

I meet the qualifications, so how do I know how much of a raise I will receive?

Regular Faculty

Up to 3 percent, given retroactively from Aug. 16 or as of the beginning date of the FY05 appointment/contract period, will be paid to regular faculty members.

Two percent of the payout will be based on merit , and 1 percent will be based on needed retention of the employee.

Additionally, a 1 percent increase will be given to faculty based on similar criteria and subject to the stability of the FY05 budget.

Support Professional Staff/Exempt Civil Service:

Support Staff will receive a 2 percent merit-based raise, as well as a 1 percent retention raise, retroactive July 1. Exempt civil service employees receive a similar 2 percent merit-based raise, in addition to a 1 percent salary range adjustment.

Additionally, a 1 percent increase will be given based on similar criteria and subject to the stability of the FY05 budget.

Hourly Civil Service:

A 2 percent, across-the-board increase is proposed for all hourly civil service employees. An additional 1 percent raise will be allocated as a salary range adjustment.

Additionally, a 1 percent increase will be given based on similar criteria and subject to the stability of the FY05 budget.

What if I don’t fit into one of those categories?

-Contracted temporary employees reappointed during FY05 might also receive salary increases in conjunction with any reappointment and availability of funding.

-Graduate assistant positions will receive raises incremented according to guidelines established by the provost.

The proposed raises are pending approval by the BOT.