BENTONVILLE — NorthWest Arkansas Community College needed to give six pay raises totaling more than $93,000 to keep it competitive in higher education administrative salaries, said college President Becky Paneitz.
Others said the raises are a slap in the face in a tough economic time that includes the college raising tuition for the fourth consecutive year.
AT A GLANCE
Employee Raises
The following NorthWest Arkansas Community College nonclassified employees received raises between July and September. Their responsibilities changed July 1 college officials said.
• Steve Gates’ title was changed from senior vice president for advancement to senior vice president for learning and provost.
Salary before increase: $119,399
Salary after increase: $137,778
Total increase: $18,379
• Wendi Cadle was hired as the director of human resources in March 2011. Her title has not changed.
Salary before increase: $65,000
Salary after increase: $83,205
Total increase: $18,205
• Jim Hall’s title is executive director for community and governmental relations. His title did not change.
Salary before increase: $69,726
Salary after increase: $87,584
Total increase: $17,858
• Meredith Brunen’s title has not changed. She is the executive director of development.
Salary before increase: $64,260
Salary after increase: $80,107
Total increase: $15,847
• Marty Parsons’ title of senior vice president of administrative services was added to his title of chief financial officer.
Salary before increase: $116,329
Salary after increase: $129, 213
Total increase: $12,884
• Miranda Smith is the executive assistant to the president. Her title has not changed.
Salary before increase: $44,697
Salary after increase: $54,636
Total increase: $9,939
Web Watch
Pay Increase Documents
Visit www.nwaonline.com/nwaccraises to view documents regarding the pay increases at NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Description of documents listed below.
• Current and past job descriptions of those who received raises
• Past and new college organizational chart
• College 2011-12 budget
• Spreadsheet the college and Johanson Group worked on regarding national salary comparisons
• Arkansas Department of Higher Education tuition comparisons
• Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges salary comparisons
• Current salaries for employees at NorthWest Arkansas Community College
“I think it is totally unwarranted to have the raises that they received,” said Bobbi Withers, a student. “I am a single mother, and it is harder for me to stay in school and feed my kids. It (tuition increases) is making it almost impossible for me.
“In order to get a grant you have to go to school full time. It is hard to work full time while going to school full time.”
The raises ranged between almost $10,000 and $18,000 per person. A restructuring of administrative positions led to the six people receiving new responsibilities and more money.
“I don’t think anyone will dispute if you give people more responsibility and change their title that you wouldn’t pay them more,” said Paneitz, who approved the raises between July and September and made them retroactive to July 1.
The restructuring should free up more time for Paneitz to raise money for the college and let the other administrators handle the day-to-day operations.
The Johanson Group of Fayetteville designed the restructure.
“There was too much on Dr. Paneitz,” said Bruce Johanson, principal of the company. “There was not a layer of leadership that was going to help the effective managing of the college as it was growing in leaps and bounds.”
Paneitz had five vice presidents and a chief financial officer reporting to her prior to the reorganization July 1. She now has two senior vice presidents and one vice president directly reporting to her.
“I have raised $69 million in private donations since 2004,” Paneitz said. “The board wanted the college to go to the next level and be nationally recognized. It wanted someone that would be external and raise money, build partnerships. Those were my marching orders. Until turnover two years ago, I was killing myself trying to do everything.”
The college eliminated nine administration positions this school year. The positions were left open because of employees leaving in recent years. The duties the nine were passed off to the six who received raises, Paneitz said.
Eliminating the nine positions dropped the overall cost the college will pay administrators even after the pay raises, Paneitz said. The college budgeted $5,180,583 for administrators in July. The projection is now $8,000 less than planned.
Alex Vasquez, chairman of the college Board of Trustees, said the reorganization was a collaborative effort between the board and the administration. The board doesn’t approve salary increases, but does approve tuition increases.
“It is a policy governance model, and my view is that Dr. Paneitz is in a much better position to know what is best for the management, administration of the college on a day-to-day basis,” Vasquez said. “I think the board plays a very important role in providing guidance and limitations for Dr. Paneitz to operate in. We trust her to make those decisions on how the day-to-day operations will occur.”
Being competitive in top administrative salaries is an ongoing battle, another board trustee said.
“As I recall, our consultant has continued to suggest every year that we aren’t at market rate,” said John Haney, a board trustee. “We have a ways to go to be as competitive as we need to be in some positions.”
The board heard a report about the reorganization from the Johanson Group in September. The board also was informed the administration was looking at compensation for those impacted by the restructure. The amount of the raises was not discussed.
“Last year, we lost a couple of people who went to other states who got paid significantly higher salaries,” said Randy Lawson, a board member. “That is an issue to keep and maintain leadership. You have to be competitive in salaries.”
The raises were given five months before tuition was raised 3.45 to 4.48 percent depending on where a student lives. The tuition and fees cost to take 30 credit hours at the college ranges from $4,278 to $7,276 per student.
The board didn’t review the salary increases when considering the tuition hike, Vasquez said.
State Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, said salary increases such as the six given by the college do affect the bottom line. Madison is chairwoman of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s higher education subcommittee.
“We are concerned about what type of cost the students are paying and what type of cost the students are being left with,” Madison said. “When NWACC started what we heard over and over again is that they would be a college without walls. They would not build buildings, they would use empty space around town. They now have buildings. They have a lobbyist who is down here (in Little Rock) all the time when we are in session.
“College executives are not corporate kings. The ones that should be making money are the ones who are doing the instruction, the ones running the business.”
Paneitz disagrees with Madison.
“We are not acting like corporate kings,” she said.
The college’s employees, including faculty and staff, tend to make more than other two-year colleges in the state, Paneitz said. A comparison of college administrators put together by the Johanson Group shows the six administrators who received raises made less than those in similar positions across the nation.
The college gives faculty members an annual 1 percent raise, plus $300.
“Why didn’t the administrators get a 1 percent raise like their teachers?” asked Matthew Bridges, a student.
Amanda Weaver said the cost of attending college extends past tuition and fees.
“This is not elementary school. Our book costs are outrageous,” Weaver said. “I can see them (administrators) getting raises, but not as much as they got.”
Student John Stay wasn’t bothered by the raises.
“I can understand the raises because we are getting more students and more buildings,” Stay said.
The tuition increase could generate $1.4 million more in revenue next year, said Marty Parsons, senior vice president of administrative services and chief financial officer. Parsons projects the college will receive $20.5 million from tuition and fees this year.
The college has received about $10.7 million from the state each year for the past five years, and expects to receive a $300,000 increase next year. It receives about $5.8 million from a local millage, but that’s expected to drop by $159,876.
The college expects it will spend $2.8 million more than the $38.4 million it will receive in revenue this year. The difference is because of a recent accounting change, Parsons said. The college previously included carryover funds in its operating budget. That money has been removed and looked at separately. The college’s carryover fund has $5.9 million.
State Rep. Tim Summers, R-Bentonville, said money is flat for colleges at the moment.
“I know they are like every college in the state that has struggled with increase costs and flat funding — particularly the community colleges, especially the ones that are growing,” Summers said. “They have to, whether it is NWACC or the U of A (University of Arkansas), be aware of costs because of the bottom line. You have got to have enough revenue to cover your expenses.”
Summers said the college has done a good job of that in the past.
“I have a lot of trust in the trustees and administration to stay on top of it,” Summers said.
Steve Gates, senior vice president for learning and provost, said administrators plan to review pay increases for college employees when reviewing the budget next month.
“The broader goal is to keep our faculty the highest-paid two-year college faculty in Arkansas,” Gates said. “We are becoming more competitive regionally and nationally with average two-year salaries.”
In 2011, five pay raises awarded by the college were found invalid by the Department of Finance and Administration. The raises were given to classified employees and were paid back through the college’s foundation. A comprehensive review of the school’s payroll was done after a Northwest Arkansas Newspapers report showed the college gave 32 pay increases in 2010 despite a memorandum freezing state employee salaries. Following the review, the college had to adjust and realign some job titles to meet regulations.