Resource Allocation and Budget Committee

Mandate from Policy B2.0

The Resource Allocation and Budget Committee shall be the faculty committee on all matters pertaining to university budget and finances. It shall also submit to the Faculty Senate for review and approval academic priorities related to external academic funding. The committee shall be responsible for presenting an analysis of the budget and other financial matters to the Senate for its review and the executive committee shall forward that review in writing, as adopted by the Senate, to the president and to the University Council. The committee shall serve as liaison for the Senate with the vice president for Finance and Administration and with other appropriate administrators and administrative policy bodies of the university. The committee shall consist of one tenured faculty member per college, each elected by their collegial faculty; three tenured faculty members at-large elected by the Faculty Senate; and the vice president for Finance and Administration or their delegate (ex-officio, voting).

Charges for AY 2024

New Charge

1. Review the appropriateness of the existing faculty salary benchmark group and the 50th percentile target in light of RIT’s aspiration of becoming an R1 institution. Propose a strategy to address broad faculty dissatisfaction with compensation as evinced in the recent COACHE survey.

Supporting Language: Examine models of pay equity across units in relation to time in rank.

Rationale: The recent RABC report was alarming for multiple reasons. For service colleges especially who may earn as much at tenure and full as their incoming Assist Profs in other colleges.

Duplicative charge

Building on the most recent "Instructional Faculty Salary Benchmarks by College" examine disparities across and within RIT's colleges. At RIT the benchmark for Assistant Professors in some departments is higher than the benchmark for Full Professors in other departments. Investigate whether and how peer institutions navigate internal disparities across units and disciplines. If called for, propose steps to cap the level of disparity.

Rationale: I applaud RIT for making salary benchmarks public. According to the "2023-2024 Instructional Faculty Salary Benchmarks by College" there are significant disparities across and even within RIT's colleges. For example, the benchmark for a Lecturer in Finance is $112,381 while the benchmark for a Lecturer in Modern Languages & Culture is $53,593. The benchmark for a Full Professor in Applied Math ($123,696) is a bit higher than that for a Lecturer in Finance, but not by much. These are some of the more extreme cases, and clearly there are market forces outside of RIT's control, but the point stands. When the recent COACHE survey shows low morale among faculty one reason could be this income inequality.

Even if these disparities cannot be eliminated RIT should have a policy for ensuring that the inequality is kept within bounds. Faculty should be compensated based on years of service and performance, not primarily on their choice of doctoral program when they were 21 years old.

Carryover Charge

Compare and report on how RIT’s benchmark universities have historically (taking a 5–10-year timeframe) allocated their budgets for Academic Affairs. In particular, explore how academic initiatives are funded, whether discretionary funds are available to Academic Affairs, what percentage of the budget is dedicated to Academic Affairs, and the role of the provost in setting budget priorities.

Resource Allocation and Budget Committee reports can be found on RIT’s Repository

Recent reports can also be found on the Faculty Senate Google Drive