Report 2016-122 Recommendation 11 Responses

Report 2016-122: California State University: Stronger Oversight Is Needed for Hiring and Compensating Management Personnel and for Monitoring Campus Budgets (Release Date: April 2017)

Recommendation #11 To: University, California State

Once it receives the results of its consultant's study on executive compensation, the Chancellor's Office should collaborate as soon as possible with interested parties, such as the LAO, to develop methodologies for future compensation comparisons that consider total compensation.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019

The Chancellor's Office hired a third-party consultant, Sibson, to conduct a total remuneration study for CSU presidents. As part of this study, Sibson reviewed the current comparators and presented their findings at the September 2019 Board of Trustees (board) meeting, confirming that the existing comparators remained viable. Given that this determination was made based upon IPEDS (institutional postsecondary education data) data published by the federal government, Sibson's survey of other institutions of higher education and utilization of data collected by the Chronicle for Higher Education, we determined that this met the auditor's recommendation to collaborate with outside parties. In addition, because the methodology employed by Sibson considers total remuneration and an industry standard formula for comparing salaries to market, we plan to utilize that methodology for future comparisons.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Resolved

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

The Chancellor's Office recently experienced a leadership transition with the departure of the Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and appointment of her replacement on October 1, 2018. The new vice chancellor will be reviewing the process for compensation comparisons and plans to have internal dialog with Chancellor's Office representatives, the Board of Trustees, and consultants in order to solidify the California State University's compensation philosophy. Once that work is complete, the Chancellor's Office will meet with outside interested parties such as the Legislative Analyst's Office and the Department of Finance to consider methodologies for future compensation comparators.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

The Chancellor's Office will schedule meetings with the Legislative Analyst's Office, the Department of Finance, and other interested parties to consider methodologies for future compensation comparators. The consultations will take place by September 2018.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The estimated completion date has been revised and is still tentative because we are reviewing the scope of work for the study. The nature and extent of any changes to the scope of work may require another revision to the estimated completion date.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The Chancellor's Office is continuing to gather the data required for consideration of institutions for compensation comparisons. As noted in our initial response, once the data is available, we will collaborate with relevant parties to consider institutions for total compensation comparisons.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2016-122

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.