The Student Fee Committee is in the process of working with a task force of key student group coordinators to revise the current pay model for stipend positions on campus.
That task force consists of the SFC chair Tracy Earll, David Jiminez, Alex Acetta, Wendy Endress, Carol Martin, Aimee Shattuck and Michele Toppe.
The proposal for revisions was introduced to staff of the Student Activities and Leadership Programs on Nov. 5, and a final endorsement of the reworked pay structure is anticipated to be completed by Dec. 3. In the meantime, there will be two more meetings and two forums open to students on Nov. 20 and Dec. 3.
The need for revisions comes from a flood of complaints by stipend employees who feel they are putting in more hours than their salary pay reflects, and also the recognition of inequities by Earll and a few SALP advisers who are well informed of how much work certain positions require. Some of those inequities stem from a current pay structure that neglects key aspects of employment positions that Earll hopes will be rectified by the revisions.
There are a lot of question regarding which jobs should qualify for stipend pay versus which ones should be paid hourly. Some workers feel as though they would make more money if their positions were paid by the hour.
“What we want is to get some equity on who gets which stipend,” Earll said. “We need some more formal structure for determining who gets paid what.”
Earll noted that there are a few groups that are currently receiving more allotments than they deserve and they will be cut back under the new plan. This fits the plan’s objective of raising certain underpaid positions while eliminating a few that should instead be receiving hourly pay.
Another aspect factoring into the revisions is the increase in Oregon’s minimum wage, which was voted in Nov. 5 under ballot Measure 25. Half of the current pay figures equate to pay that is below the minimum wage when the required hours are factored in.
The three main objectives that will be considered when raising pay amounts are the job’s responsibility level, the educational value and the time commitment. The current policy is based only on the time commitment.
Under the current pay structure, the lowest paid position receives $1,500 per year. That minimum amount is proposed to be raised to $2,340 per year under the new plan. This year’s pay scale can be viewed on the Internet at www.aspsu.pdx.edu/sfc under the stipend policy link.
As this proposal is still in the working stages, it won’t be until early December that changes are finalized and implemented.