Objectives
The compensation program focuses the College’s efforts on maintaining both external competitiveness and internal equity, making decisions that support an overall total rewards philosophy, and consistently administering pay policies and responding to and supporting organizational priorities, changes, and needs. The compensation program’s key objectives include:
Maintain external competitiveness by developing and sustaining a pay structure based on benchmark market data, and pay targeted above the median of our market competitors. The market for our positions includes those organizations we compete with for employees, or with whom we have decided to compare ourselves. For most support staff positions, we look at local data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PayFactors, and other sources, using the Portland, Maine, metro region. For the majority of administrative positions, we use a list of thirty-one peer colleges developed from lists the College uses in other ways (NESCAC, US News liberal arts colleges):Amherst College (Amherst, MA)
Barnard College (New York, NY)
Bates College (Lewiston, ME)
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA)
Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA)
Carleton College (Northfield, MN)
Colby College (Waterville, ME)
Colgate University (Hamilton, NY)
Connecticut College (New London, CT)
Davidson College (Davidson, NC)
Franklin & Marshall College (Lancaster, PA)
Hamilton College (Clinton, NY)
Haverford College (Haverford, PA)
Macalester College (Saint Paul, MN)
Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT)
Mount Holyoke College (South Hadley, MA)
Pomona College (Claremont, CA)
Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Smith College (Northampton, MA)
Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, PA)
Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Tufts University (Medford, MA)
Union College (Schenectady, NY)
University of Richmond (Richmond, VA)
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA)
Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA)
Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Wheaton College (Norton, MA)
Williams College (Williamstown, MA)
In addition, the College will continue to participate in a number of salary surveys for specific areas, such as the library, museums, and information technology, among others, to provide additional data sources of competitive salary information.
Maintain internal equity by reviewing pay ranges to determine if jobs with comparable skill sets and responsibilities are placed appropriately within the structure, based on market data.
Support the compensation philosophy by conducting salary reviews on a regular and consistent basis and regularly updating the salary structure in order to maintain market-based external equity.
Establish salaries for new employees at levels that recognize the individual’s skills and experience, while considering the salary levels of current employees within the same position or role to address compression.
Make salary-increase decisions based on recognizing performance, retaining our best employees, maintaining market alignment, and supporting internal equity.
Create compensation structures and strategies that are fair, equitable, and financially sustainable to support the College’s priorities, changes, and needs.