Reduction in benefits to occur for faculty, staff

REDUCTION, page 1 option, the best plan offered by Cabrini; cheaper alternatives, like Keystone HMO, can be chosen instead, but most faculty decline this option because, as stated by the anonymous professor, it's “a plan notorious for denying coverage.”

Iadarola maintains that the benefits plan, in contrast to other schools, is “very competitive.” Compared to other schools in the area, Cabrini remains to be part of the few institutions that offer opt out medical coverage for their eligible employees; however, many of the insurance company options at these other colleges are of higher quality.

Shimada said that these changes apply to every full-time, eligible individual employed by the college, including the administration-Iadarola herself stands to lose the $2, 748.72, which in the academic year of 2002 to 2003, as documented by the Chronicle of Higher Education, would bring her total compensation down to $180,453.

Faculty Senate members state that it was originally the administrations ideas to adjust the former family benefits plan because flex dollars would provide a reasonable arrangement that was not affected by a faculty or staff member's marital status. According to the Faculty Senate, “The new system will move back to what the administration saw as an inequitable system.”

The Middle States Evaluation, the reaccredidation process that all institutions participate in every 10 years, states that based upon comparable institutions nationwide, Cabrini's faculty salaries for full-time and associate professors rank between the 50th and 60th percentile, while salaries for assistant professors ranges between the 40th and 50th percentile.

Figures compiled by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) revealed that in 2004, the average salary for a Cabrini professor was approximately $65,000, an associate professor earned $53,100, an assistant professor pocketed $43,200 and instructors made $35,000. With these changes, a married professor with children would now make $54,468.

This brings up concerns from the Faculty Senate who believe that the decrease in benefit finances could result in “difficulty recruiting and retaining faculty.” In addition to this, the Senate feels that “employees are not valued, they are treated as