Report 2020-104 Recommendation 5 Responses

Report 2020-104: Calbright College: It Must Take Immediate Corrective Action to Accomplish Its Mission to Provide Underserved Californians With Access to Higher Education (Release Date: May 2021)

Recommendation #5 To: Calbright College

To ensure that the compensation it provides its employees is reasonable, Calbright should establish a pay schedule for all employees by November 2021 that does the following:

1. Includes salary, benefits, and all other forms of compensation.

2. Establishes compensation packages that are comparable to those for similar positions within the community college system.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023

Part of the language in this recommendation indicates that Calbright must "establish a pay schedule for all employees." As past responses to this recommendation note, this was completed in October of 2021. Since the initial California State Auditor report in the spring of 2021, the auditor's office indicated that to fully implement this recommendation, all pay schedules must be implemented, as opposed to "established."

To further comply with this additional requirement, Calbright had to first complete collective bargaining with its labor units. At the College's May 24, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting, a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Calbright Faculty Association (the College's local chapter of the California Teachers Association) was ratified and adopted. This agreement included salary schedules and compensation. At the College's June 15, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting, salary schedules for Confidential, Management/Administrators/Academic Administrators were adopted by the Board. At the College's March 21, 2023 Board of Trustees meeting, a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the California School Employees Association and Calbright Classified staff was ratified and adopted. This agreement included salary schedules and compensation. At the College's June 21, 2023, Board of Trustees meeting a salary schedule was adopted for Adjunct Faculty.

Calbright has implemented this recommendation and offers competitive salary and benefit schedules for all employee groups. Ongoing salary reviews will occur on a regular basis in order to maintain competitive salaries and benefits for Calbright employees. Salary schedules are posted on the College's website in the careers section.

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

Calbright provided its salary schedules for its staff including faculty, management, and classified staff.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2022

The language in this recommendation indicates that Calbright must "establish a pay schedule for all employees." This was completed in October of 2021. To ensure employee compensation is competitive and comparable to those for similar positions within the California Community Colleges (CCC) system, Calbright commissioned Stan McKnight & Associates, Inc. (a firm specializing in higher education salary analysis) to conduct research and analysis of peer CCCs and Districts to benchmark Calbright's salaries. McKnight's analysis also took into account our unique characteristics and needs with respect to certain positions or job titles. On 10/20/21, McKnight presented their findings, including recommended pay schedules and salary ranges (executive, academic administrators/administrators/management, and confidential) for our staff positions to Calbright's Board of Trustees.

At the College's June 15, 2022 Board of Trustees meeting the Confidential, Management/Administrators/Academic Administrators salary schedules were adopted and salary schedules are currently implemented for both academic and non-classified staff. Academic employees are represented by the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the College's inaugural agreement with CTA was ratified in May 2022.

Since the initial California State Auditor report in the spring of 2021, the auditor's office indicated that to fully implement this recommendation, all pay schedules must be implemented, as opposed to "established."

While the salary schedule for classified staff is established, Calbright's classified employees are represented by the California School Employees Association (CSEA) and the collective bargaining process with CSEA is currently underway. The College anticipates a final agreement to be reached during the first quarter of 2023. Once the agreement is ratified, salary schedules for all Calbright faculty and staff will have been implemented.

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

1-Year Agency Response

To ensure employee compensation is competitive and comparable to those for similar positions within the California Community Colleges (CCC) system, Calbright commissioned Stan McKnight & Associates, Inc. (a firm specializing in higher education salary analysis) to conduct research and analysis of peer CCCs and Districts to benchmark Calbright's salaries. McKnight's analysis also took into account our unique characteristics and needs with respect to certain positions or job titles. On 10/20/21, McKnight presented their findings, including recommended pay schedules and salary ranges (executive, academic administrators/administrators/management, and confidential), for our staff positions to Calbright's Board of Trustees. The analysis for benchmarking also addressed base salary (prior to longevity), establishing fair and consistent hiring ranges, and pay percentage increase by step within salary ranges.

Calbright academic employees are represented by the California Teachers Association (CTA) and classified employees by the California School Employees Association (CSEA). Salary schedules will be implemented in compliance with collective bargaining obligations. The College anticipates presenting its first ratified contract with CTA to its Board of Trustees in May 2022, and to begin collective bargaining with CSEA in the summer of 2022. Pay schedules for both CTA and CSEA are established, with the CSEA schedule currently moving through the formal bargaining process.

Calbright has established a compensation package that, where applicable, is comparable to those for similar positions within the CCC system, and includes: medical, dental, vision, California state pension plans, and A&D and life insurance. We offer a variety of voluntary benefits common in the CCC system, such as 403b/457 retirement plans, supplemental insurance plans, and flexible and healthcare spending accounts.

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

We recognize the requirements Calbright faces with respect to collective bargaining mean that it cannot unilaterally address issues of compensation. Accordingly, while Calbright has taken important first steps, we will assess this recommendation as Pending implementation until Calbright completes its negotiation process and finalizes its salary schedules.

6-Month Agency Response

To ensure employee compensation is competitive and comparable to those for similar positions within the California Community Colleges (CCC) system, Calbright commissioned McKnight & Associates, Inc. (a firm specializing in higher education salary analysis) to conduct research and analysis of peer CCCs and Districts to benchmark Calbright's salaries. McKnight's data analysis also took into account our unique characteristics and needs with respect to certain positions or job titles. On October 20, 2021, McKnight presented their findings—including recommended pay schedules and salary ranges (executive, academic administrators/administrators/management, and confidential)—for our staff positions to Calbright's Board of Trustees. The analysis for benchmarking also addressed base salary (prior to longevity), establishing fair and consistent hiring ranges, and pay percentage increase by step within salary ranges. Calbright cannot unilaterally create a salary schedule for represented employees outside the negotiations process. We are currently negotiating with the California Teachers Association for its academic employees and are also in the process of unit recognition of our classified employees with the California School Employees Association. Salary schedules will be implemented in compliance with collective bargaining obligations.

Calbright has established a compensation package that, where applicable, is comparable to those for similar positions within the CCC system. The College contributes to a comprehensive package that is standard throughout the CCC system and consists of core employee benefits including: medical, dental, vision, California state pension plans, and A&D and life insurance. Additionally, we offer a variety of voluntary benefits common in the public sector, such as retirement plans (403b/457), insurance plans, and flexible and healthcare spending accounts. Calbright is planning to offer a comprehensive Employee Assistance Plan to employees in 2022.

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

Calbright provided evidence of the work that McKnight & Associates has performed toward the development of pay schedules and noted that it is engaged in the collective bargaining process for its employees. We recognize the requirements Calbright faces with respect to collective bargaining mean that it cannot unilaterally address issues of compensation. Accordingly, while Calbright has taken important first steps, we will assess this recommendation as Pending implementation until Calbright completes its negotiation process and finalizes its salary schedules.

60-Day Agency Response

Calbright Board Policy 7130 (Compensation) requires that salary schedules, compensation, and benefits, including health and welfare benefits, for all classes of employees be established by the Board of Trustees.

To develop Calbright's salary schedules for faculty, classified staff, and administrators, the college has retained the services of McKnight Associates, Inc. (a consulting firm specializing in HR for colleges, universities, and other organizations) in May, 2020. McKnight Associates reviewed 20 peer institutions within the California Community College system for the purposes of benchmarking Calbright's salaries to those identified institutions. McKnight Associates used the data from Calbright's peer institutions, while also taking into account Calbright's unique characteristics and needs, to present data analysis on salary benchmarks for Calbright employees.

Calbright is establishing a process that will ensure our compensation structures and benefits programs provide all employees a reasonable and competitive pay schedule, health and supplemental benefits, and retirement plans. The adoption of salary schedules will be implemented in compliance with applicable collective bargaining obligations.

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

All Recommendations in 2020-104

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.