Saipan Tribune

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Staff salary study, desk audit underway at NMC

Northern Marianas College employees are hoping for a positive change in their employment at the institution following reports that their wages and benefits are being revisited by management and that there is a plan to endorse salary adjustments to the Board of Regents.

NMC president Sharon Y. Hart, Ph.D., disclosed that a staff salary study has been completed at the college and is being incorporated into a full NMC-wide salary comparison.

It was also learned that a confirmatory desk audit will be undertaken this month to ensure that certain positions are properly classified before any salary adjustments are proposed.

“The president has instructed the completion of the peer salary study by Feb. 17. Salaries of NMC faculty and administrators will be compared against peers. Additionally, a proposal for a faculty salary schedule and a review of support staff positions and their salaries has also been tasked,” according to Hart's report to the Board of Regents.

The target completion of the project is late February.

Saipan Tribune learned that among the factors that make it difficult for the college to hire needed personnel is the low compensation offered to candidates. According to some faculty, the “salary freeze” was a result of a policy on promotions that was adopted at NMC in 1989 but was never implemented.

Despite attempts of previous NMC administrations to adjust employees' wages, however, the college's budget prevented the institution from going forward.

On Tuesday, NMC human resource officer Christopher Timmons provided the board a document showing the current salary pattern offered at the college. He described the current wage schedule of employees as non-competitive and contributes to the difficulty of bringing in needed personnel such as instructors.

Meantime, Hart reported to the board that in January, HRO filled three instructor positions for the School of Education and Humanities; and two other non-teaching positions for personnel specialist and a payroll accountant. Three of these candidates, she said, have already started.

Based on the college's website, NMC is still recruiting for several positions. These include bookstore assistant, department chair for Language and Humanities, director for Admissions and Records, director for Financial Services/CFO, coordinator for College Access Challenge Grant, instructors for nursing and psychology, as well as program coordinator for the Office of Admissions and Records. The college is also looking for adjunct instructors.