Faculty Salaries at MiraCosta Community College

By Andrew A. Mauro

A 9/19/04 NC Times article reported that MCC salaries rank highest among the nation's community colleges. I believe a quality faculty helps insure a quality education. As a currrent Trustee I've reviewed and approved prudent budgets which have enabled MCC to attract and retain top caliber faculty and staff, improve facilities, expand student services,and maintain a healthy reserve. All of this has been accomplished with no changes in the tax rates for district property owners.

Do we get our money's worth? The high number of applicants we consider for each teaching position at MCC is directly reflected in the quality of the MCC faculty in terms of education, experience, and professional skill. Our faculty are highly satisfied and motivated. Once on board, they tend to stay at MCC throughout their careers, and immerse themselves in all aspects of the college's operations. We get a tremendous return from each of our faculty members. The alternative which many schools face is hiring and training a high percentage of new faculty each year, and struggling to get full faculty participation in many of the most important systems and structures of the institution.

Can we afford it? MCC lives within its means, and maintains a prudent reserve fund for future contingencies. MCC's revenues are tied to local property taxes, but taxpayer rates are not effected by MCC's budget decisions. MCC receives a constant percentage of whatever property tax revenues are collected. We have just experienced a period of significant increases in housing values and, consequently, property tax revenues in North San Diego County. This situation now promises to level off in the next few years. The budgeting process begins anew each year. As revenues begin to level off as expected, increases in salary levels will also level off. We've seen that change already in the last two budgets approved at MCC.

Do salaries represent a disproportionate percentage of the budget? Salary is always the most significant expense of a college. At MCC, the Board has set a policy where salaries cannot exceed 80% of budgeted expenses. The last two budgets have seen a reduction in the percentage of expenses allocated for salaries. At MCC, salaries as a percentage of expenses continue to remain within the state's community college guidelines.

Are other priorities being short-changed? The last few years has seen a remarkable growth and expansion of services and facilities at MCC--new classrooms and support facilities, an award-winning information technology system, improvements across the board in career counseling, vocational programs, and more. All of these improvements provide our students the support needed to attain their educational goals. MCC always builds its budget by conservatively estimating revenues, and then budgeting expenditures based largely on priorities identified and agreed upon by the large campus community. The Administration and ultimately the Board make the final decisions on the budget, of course, and budget priorities change from year to year. I personally hope we'll be able to see more classes, more sections, new programs in the years ahead.

Where should the college go with its salary structure? As a general statement, I would like to see MCC remain near the top in community college faculty salaries in California. I strongly believe it is one of the keys to the remarkable success the college has experienced over the last decade. At the same time, I realize it is important to be prudent in our budgeting process, maintain our reserves in the face of an always uncertain future, and constantly reevaluate budget priorities to identify and address evolving needs. I would not favor a widening disparity between faculty salary levels at MCC and those of other top state community colleges. I would expect the leveling off trend in salary increases we've seen in the last two years to continue. I feel salaries as a percentage of total budget will also continue to decline as the college begins to enter a new phase of growth and expansion in student services and facilities.

Is it working? MCC students have been shown in recent surveys to out-perform their peers. A recent survey at SDSU revealed that MCC students transferring in for their junior and senior years achieved a higher completion rate and grade point average than their classmates who began as freshmen at SDSU. Our ability to retain a highly competent faculty must be considered a primary factor in our students' record of success. The recently-awarded federal grant to support the new Bio-Manufacturing program at MCC is another example of how excellence among faculty and staff at MCC translates into new career opportunities for students, and economic development for the community.

Conclusion: MCC has been blessed with a healthy budget over the last few years, and it has invested those funds wisely to maximize the benefits to the entire campus community. The proof is in the positive learning environment that exists at MCC, and the success realized by our students.