Texas A&M System To Pay Profs Based On Performance

The Texas A&M University System plans to determine professor payment based on cost-benefit analysis of their work.

The Bryan-College Station Eagle reports:

A several-inches thick document in the possession of A&M System officials contains three key pieces of information for every single faculty member in the 11-university system: their salary, how much external research funding they received and how much money they generated from teaching.

The information will allow officials to add the funds generated by a faculty member for teaching and research and subtract that sum from the faculty member's salary. When the document -- essentially a profit-loss statement for faculty members -- is complete, officials hope it will become an effective, lasting tool to help with informed decision-making.

The plan has not been warmly received by faculty. A&M's chapter head of the American Association of University Professors, Peter Hugill, called the prospect a "silly measure."

This is not the first administrative decision to raise eyebrows at A&M. In January, the university restructured its administration to save money, combining several existing positions into a "shared services" committee.

According to the Battalion, the Texas A&M system includes 11 schools, seven government agencies and a health and science center.

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