College Policy Number/Title:

• 63.04     Compensation

Howard Community College sets demanding standards for employee performance believing that excellence creates excellence.  In order to foster and acknowledge meritorious performance, the college has adopted a system for determining merit pay that defines the expected level of support, professional/technical, and administrative staff performance.

Compensation and contract terms associated with merit pay are contingent upon available resources and are detailed in the chart below.

Staff who are approaching the maximum of the salary range for their grade are eligible to earn merit pay, but the portion of merit pay that exceeds the maximum of the salary range will not accrue to the base salary.  It is paid as non-base merit with the base salary remaining at the maximum.

Merit awards will be adjusted for employees hired after the start of the fiscal year.  Employees hired July 1 through October 31 are eligible for the full merit award; employees hired November 1 through December 31 are eligible for three quarters merit award; employees hired January 1 through March 31 are eligible for half the merit award; and employees hired April 1 and after are not eligible for a merit award until the following fiscal year. 

Similarly, employees who work eight months of a fiscal year or more are eligible for full merit for that fiscal year; employees who work for six to eight months of a fiscal year are eligible for three quarters merit for that fiscal year; and employees who work three to six months of a fiscal year are eligible for half merit for that fiscal year.

Merit awards will be adjusted for employees who transfer from one area to another within the college during the fiscal year.  Employees hired in the new area after July 1 but before January 1 are eligible for the full merit award based on performance in the new area only.  Employees who begin in a new area after January 1 and prior to April 1 are eligible for full merit award; however, the level will be based on performance in both areas, and the new supervisor will request input from the previous supervisor.  Employees who begin in a new area after April 1 may be eligible for full merit based on a full year of service to the college; however, the merit level would be based primarily on performance in the previous area, and would also be contingent upon performance in the new area; therefore, the new supervisor would require extensive input from the previous supervisor.

Effective Date: 1/14/2005