Dive Brief:
- A newly released study analyzes the pay and benefits of faculty at regional public universities, finding professors in states that allow faculty unions get 25% more in pay and benefits than their colleagues elsewhere.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that absent union status, faculty at larger, suburban public universities make about 20% more in pay and benefits than faculty at midsize rural institutions, which are at the other extreme, and when unionized large suburban institutions are compared to nonunionized midsize rural institutions, the gap is fully 50%, or $40,000.
- Whether unions are the key to the salary differential is under debate, as states with higher cost of living more often allow faculty unions, but report authors say unions lead to a 15% increase in pay and a 32% increase in benefits at regional public universities.
Dive Insight:
Adjunct faculty have been particularly prone to new unionization drives at college campuses as they fight for better pay and working conditions. A controversial new study of that phenomenon concluded substantial increases in adjunct pay would cost universities too much and they might be better off spending the money on other social justice activities, like enrolling more underrepresented students or better supporting those on campus.
One key element of the pay and benefits study is that it focuses on regional public institutions, arguing they need to be separated out from flagships in analysis of public university operations. Adding benefits to the analysis is also a novel approach.