Madison Area Technical College announced its faculty members earn more than the employees at University of Wisconsin System universities, with the exception of the Madison campus.
According to data provided by the American Association of University Professors, the average MATC faculty salary is $79,030. At UW campuses the average is $51,089.
MATC Vice President for Learner Success Terry Webb confirmed those numbers but said a better comparison could be made with Wisconsin technical college system salaries, as MATC is in the upper-middle portion of that bracket.
Still, AAUP Director of Research and Public Policy John Curtis said the numbers are somewhat odd and unexpected.
“In universities where you have a variety of disciplines, some professional areas such as law, business and engineering pay much higher salaries, but it is still unusual for a technical college such as MATC to have higher average salaries than even the four-year universities,” Curtis said.
Webb said higher value is placed on experience in technical trades, higher education attainment, diversity and teaching abilities. Salaries are based on education level and professional experience, with the initial determination consistent with the area taught.
Because of competition in the educational field, Webb said even technical colleges have to offer competitive salaries to recruit staff that can uphold the school’s mission.
“If you’re a professional person and you have the potential of earning a lot of money in a private profession, we have to compensate for that.” Webb said. “Those people that are excellent at teaching and their own profession add the most to a student’s education.”
More than 80 percent of the professors employed by the 12 UW Colleges campuses and online learning program have a terminal degree, meaning they cannot be educated further in their field of study, said Steve Wildeck, vice chancellor for administrative and financial services for UW Colleges. He said the number is very high in comparison to similar colleges, despite the significantly lower average salary offered.
Wildeck said the biggest obstacle in bridging the salary gap is the system’s lack of finances. UW faculty salaries are determined as part of the state budget, whereas the technical college faculty negotiate their labor agreements through unions.
Curtis said UW is able to provide higher salaries for its faculty – averaging out at $94,541 – because the school has an emphasis on research and has to compete with schools like the University of Michigan, University of Illinois and University of California-Berkley.
Although the UW System’s overall salary average comes out low in comparison with MATC, Wildeck said the lower average does not damage the value of the education but does create a higher turnover rate than system administrators would like.
In light of Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget proposal, Wildek said a third of UW System faculty make around $46,000 per year but are facing an increased requirement for health premiums, and the retirement contributions make it difficult to retain educators.
“While it’s understandable, there’s no denying how much of a bite it is for people trying to raise a family on that kind of money.” Wildeck said. “It’s becoming more and more difficult for young faculty to say yes to us.”
