OCCC merit-based raises average 4.5%

By Eric Nguyen, Editor

OCCC employees who performed well during the last fiscal year are being compensated with up to a 3 percent salary increase.

All employees who received a raise also received a $750 stipend, bringing the total average salary increase to 4.5 percent for fiscal year 2007-’08, according to this year’s Staffing Plan.

OCCC President Paul Sechrist said the combination of a percentage raise combined with an across-the-board amount added, “… resulted in pay raises that we believe were equitable, fair, and resulted in an average increase that was affordable given the anticipated financial resources.”

Employee raises are “merit-based,” he said, “which means that the employee’s performance is a factor in determining the amount of the increase for each employee.”

Performance adjustments are based on employee performance appraisals by supervisors, Sechrist said, and range from no raise to a 3 percent pay raise.

Employees who “did not meet job requirements” or “partially met job requirements” did not get a pay raise, while employees who “met job requirements” saw a 2 percent increase.

Those who “exceeded job requirements” or had a “significant accomplishment” received a 2.5 percent increase.

A 3 percent increase in pay went to those who “exceeded job requirements” and had a “significant accomplishment.”

The equation used to determine how large salary increases can be is based on several factors, Sechrist said.

“Cost of living increases are one factor in determining raises,” he said in an e-mail. Gas prices, housing and how much money OCCC receives from the state also are factors.

“Available revenue increases each year are a significant factor in determining if raises can be given at all,” Sechrist said.

He said state appropriations are the largest source of that revenue.

The 4.5 percent increase is consistent with the average rate for the past five years.

Records show salary increases from fiscal years 2001-’02 to 2006-’07 were around 4.5 to 4.9 percent.

There were no pay raises in 2002-’03 and 2003-’04 because of low state allocations, according to Staffing Plans from those years.

Career Transitions Employment Specialist Craig Hitchcock said while the salary adjustment could be better, “it’s not bad considering the economy in Oklahoma right now. Any increase is better than none.”

Math Professor Charles Nunley said he would have liked a larger raise.

“We all feel [the pay raise] could be better. We all want as much as we can get, but I think overall, it’s a reasonable amount.”

Employee salaries and college budget plans from all years are available to the public through OCCC’s Marketing and Public Relations Department under the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

Editor Eric Nguyen can be reached at editor@occc.edu.

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