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HIGHER EDUCATION: Board to hear employee pay report
Analysis cites low salaries, standard of living, as reasons for problems

By David Dodds, Herald Staff Writer

Source: Grand Forks Herald, March 21, 2002

The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education will hear a bleak analysis today citing a low standard of living in the state and noncompetitive salaries as factors that will make recruiting and retaining university employees increasingly difficult.

The findings are part of a special North Dakota University System study on employee compensation. The study looks at the system's turnover statistics and salary figures for faculty and staff members, as well as cost-of-living factors in the state.

Here are some of the study's critical findings:

• 45 percent of NDUS faculty members are age 50 or older and nearing retirement.
• 60 percent of people choosing to leave NDUS employment had less than five years of service.
• People leaving NDUS cite low wages as the No. 1 factor in their decision.
• Faculty salaries lag as much as 33 percent below those in the regional market.
• North Dakota's cost of living is approximately the same at the U.S. cost of living.
• North Dakota's standard of living is below the U.S. standard of living.
• The real purchasing power of North Dakota wages is lower than the average purchasing power in the United States.