Recruitment & Retention:

A Guide to Competitive Graduate Salaries

GTFF-UO Bargaining Session #12 (August 3, 2023)

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Eugene Cost of Living and GE salaries

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Since our last contract was negotiated, what’s considered a living wage in Eugene has risen by about 50%*

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*As determined by the MIT Living Wage calculator

Solving our recruitment problem:

How does UO compare to our peers?

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Peer Institutions

UO’s identified Peers:

• 8 Regional Comparators
• 8 National Comparators
• 37 AAU Public Universities

NOT INCLUDED

• 30 AAU Private Universities

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Department of Education: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) :

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Universities submit data every year to IPEDS, and then, can select other universities to be benchmarked against in their Data Feedback report

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UO’s chosen schools�(National Comparators)

Schools that chose UO as a peer

Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education

Peer Institutions

UO’s identified Peers:

• 8 Regional Comparators
• 8 National Comparators
• 37 AAU Public Universities

NOT INCLUDED

• 30 AAU Private Universities

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Minimum Salary

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• UO sets university-wide minimum salaries for GEs. How many of our peers do the same?

• Imagine we’re a prospective student considering UO and other schools. Let’s compare the offered salaries and how expensive it is to live in these places.

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Graduate Employee (GE) Salary and Benefits

MIT Living Wage Calculator

MIT’s Living Wage Calculation

• What is included in MIT’s living wage calculation for an single individual household?

The Living Wage Calculator estimates are based on the costs of basic need such as food, health care, housing, transportation, civic engagement, broadband, and other necessities.

• Do the living wage estimates include a reasonable amount of savings and leisure expenditures or go beyond a subsistence wage?

No, the living wage currently does not factor in savings, leisure expenditures, emergency expenses, or other cost categories beyond basic needs such as eating out at a restaurant or meals that aren’t prepared at home; leisure time, holidays, or unpaid vacations; or savings, retirement, and other long-term financial investments.

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Minimum Salary Results

We found data for 31 Public AAU Universities, includes:

• All 8 National Comparators
• 5 of 8 Regional Comparators
• 14 schools that identify UO as a peer

Note: Salaries are set to monthly 0.5 FTE stipends, using only GE I when applicable to put everyone on the same scale

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UO at Peer Average $2450

($544 or 28.54% raise)

What percent of a living wage is being met?

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Where do our GEs fall?

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• 94% of GEs are at or above 0.40 FTE
• 72% of GEs are at or above 0.45 FTE
• 55% of GEs are at 0.49 FTE

UO 0.5 FTE GE 1:

28.8% of GEs below this

UO minimum raised to peer average:

96.5% of GEs below this

Eugene living wage:

100% of GEs below this

But what about people above the minimum?

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Peer Physics Programs

• In 2022, a survey of physics graduate students found a large number were considering leaving the program due to financial issues.
• Physics compiled data on what they identified as peer physics programs, and this was presented to CAS as an argument for physics needing a raise.
• This included stipends, students fees, and insurance costs.
• CAS’s response: no raises so close to bargaining

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Peer Physics Programs

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Physics Peers Results

• 93 GEs making Physics ~6% of the bargaining unit
• Physics GEs are among 53% of GEs making above the minimum rates
• The university’s initial proposal leaves 32% of GEs with NO raise over the next 3 years

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UO at Peer Avg. $2691

($550 or 26.0% raise)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Wage Issue

“Differences in family wealth and loan aversion—may result in a scenario in which financial factors are especially relevant in the application decisions of prospective Black and Latinx students. By providing a tuition waiver, competitive stipend, and health insurance, a graduate fellowship program may therefore prove especially attractive to Black and Latinx applicants”

• Ecton, W. G., et al. (2021). “If You Fund Them, Will They Come? Implications From a PhD Fellowship Program on Racial/Ethnic Student Diversity”

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Conclusion

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UO at Peer Average $2450

($544 or 28.54% raise)

UO at Peer Avg. $2691

($550 or 26.0% raise)