46 Employee Salary Schedule

Policy Statement (Board Approval Date:  03/22/11)

The purpose of the Employee Salary Schedule is to provide guidelines for initial placement as a means of providing pay advancement appropriate to the experience and professional training of each employee (salary schedule tables are available on the MSC Commons/MSC Forms).  For purposes of this section, “employee” is defined as a person having a formal, full-time employment appointment with MSC and engaged in the delivery of services.

Actual dollar amounts suggested by this schedule are subject to availability of funds and do not represent a contractual obligation.

Procedure

1. Definition of Terms/Conditions:
   1. Step refers to years of service or prior experience.
   2. Level refers to educational attainment/years of experience in the field.
   3. Extra-Duty Pay refers to additional compensation added to the regular base pay for extra duties assumed.
2. General Guidelines:
   1. Salaries of new employees, including interim appointments, are to be established in accordance with the salary schedule and all provisions governing its use. A supervisor has the discretion to give ten steps for comparable years’ work experience during the initial hiring of a new employee.  In the event a vacant position is filled by transfer of an already employed person, the salary of that employee in the “old” position does not “transfer” to the new position.  Such salary considerations are to be determined by the appropriate administrator over the respective area based on the responsibilities of the position and whether the transfer is a true “lateral” transfer based on the salary schedule assigned to the new position.
   2. Educational Attainment: Employees may apply for pay advancement based upon degree completion/for each 15 credit hours of education earned toward degree completion/professional certification or professional licensure, provided the requirements are completed by the end of the summer term of the fiscal year in which the advancement is to be effective.  Employees wishing to apply for a pay advancement must fill out and submit to their area supervisor an Application for Pay Advancement form (available on the MSC Commons/MSC Forms).  An Application for Pay Advancement form must be completed and signed by the area/department supervisor and appropriate administrator and forwarded to the HR Director  for technical review.  Copies of official transcripts or obtained licensures must be attached to the application form. Applications must be presented prior to April 1 of the year preceding the fiscal year in which the advance becomes effective.  Persons can only take hours toward a degree or licensure not currently held or not held at initial hire date.  After reviewing all documents, the HR Director will create and attach a PAF, a memo to the employee and forward all documents to the Chief Financial Officer for final processing and budgeting.
   3. A person must be employed by July 1 of any given year to be eligible for any salary or benefit increase approved by the Board for the following fiscal year.
   4. Eligibility for an increase in salary and/or benefits and/or funding of any earned advancement is based upon receiving a minimum of an overall satisfactory evaluation of an employee’s performance.
   5. Extra-Duty Pay may be awarded when an employee assumes added responsibilities above and beyond the job description on file. Extra-Duty Pay does not count toward base salary for across-the-board percentage salary or benefit increases and are only for, and will be determined on, a case-by-case basis. Such recommendation is made by the supervisor.
   6. If the applicant pool for a position is such that it is necessary to employ a person with less than the educational qualifications required for the position, he or she may be employed and placed on the salary schedule following established guidelines. At the time of employment, a compensation and time schedule for completion of approved hours toward the necessary educational level must be established for those being employed on a full-time basis.  On occasion, it may best serve the needs of MSC and its students to employ a person above the entry level consistent with the salary schedule monetary scale.  Murray State College reserves the right to negotiate a salary outside the limitations of the salary schedule document when competition from the prevailing job market dictates this move to secure qualified personnel.  Prior to advertising the position under “market demand” situations, the area supervisor/administrator is required to provide written documentation from an outside source showing the prevailing wages in the respective field for employment in a similar geographic/economic region.  The area supervisor recommends the entry level or negotiated salary to be advertised for new positions.  The supervisor/administrator then forwards documentation and recommendation to the President.
   7. To maintain equity in compensation of employees, the following procedure must be strictly followed:
      1. Earned levels and steps must be recognized regardless of funding availability during the year in which the levels and steps were achieved.
      2. Unless otherwise mandated by the State, the first priority for distribution of available employee compensation funds must be for such earned levels and steps that have been achieved but not funded. Second priority is for salary and/or benefit increases.
3. The College administration reserves the managerial right to set salaries as needed to fill vacancies at the College to provide necessary services to the students we serve.
4. The College administration reserves the right to hire someone at a lower rate of pay if they have not met the required qualifications.