Kentucky State University Faculty Senate conducted a faculty salary compensation survey with all faculty members between May 8-14, 2018 to gather the faculty's thoughts about the current discussions about faculty compensation. An electronic survey via Surveymonkey.com was sent to all 145 KSU faculty members, of which 69 (44.47%) faculty members responded to the survey. Of these, two surveys were completed outside the time limit, so these responses are not included in the data analyses. The number of respondents varies by question, as some faculty members declined to respond to all questions.

Of the 67 faculty members who participated, 26 respondents (38.8%) currently hold tenure, 25 respondents (34.3%) are in tenure-track positions, and 11 respondents (16.4%) are in non-tenure track positions. Of the 58 faculty members who responded to race/ethnicity question, 20 (34.4%) identified their race/ethnicity as African American or other African descent, 31 (53.4%) identified themselves as Caucasian, and 3 (5.2%) identified as Asian/Pacific Islander. One faculty member (1.7%) identified as having more than one race or ethnicity. Twelve faculty members (20.7%) declined to respond to this question. Fifty-seven faculty members (85.1%) responded to the question about sex. Of these, 30 (52.6%) were female and 27 (40.3%) were male. Ten of the total 67 faculty members (14.9%) declined to respond to this question.

Among the 61 faculty members who responded (91.0%), the mean number of years of service was 9.3 years, with a median of 10 years of service. Both the mean and the median year of hire for these respondents was 2007. Among the 64 faculty members who responded (96.0%), the mean number of years of service was 9.3 years, with a median of 10 years of service. Of the 64 faculty members who responded (96.0%), 35 (54.7%) were hired at the Assistant Professor level, while another 19 (29.7%) joined KSU as visiting or adjunct faculty, lecturers, or instructors. Of the 61 faculty members who responded (91.0%), 44 (72.1%) were currently in either 9-month or 12-month tenure track positions.

Although these data represent the responses of a subset of the faculty members at Kentucky State University, they provide clear evidence that faculty compensation in many areas is inconsistent both within and across Divisions. Of the 61 faculty members (91.0%) who responded to this question, 42 (68.8%) reported that new faculty members have been hired in their Divisions at higher salaries than those earned by current faculty members who have been working for many years at lower salaries. Fifty-five of the 67 faculty members (82.1%) responded to the question of salary equity by academic rank. Of these, 30 faculty members (54.5%) felt that their salaries were not at all equitable for the number of years in their rank. There have been no raises for many years and rank/discipline ranges have not been adjusted since 2012.

Sixty-six of the total 67 faculty members (99.0%) responded to the question about KSU salary equity compared to similar institutions. Of these, 60 (90.9%) indicated that salaries at Kentucky State University are not competitive when compared to salaries at similar comprehensive state universities. Faculty opinions about this matter were based on information from a variety of reliable sources, including CUPA-HR, AAUP, and comparisons with other institutions. The survey data clearly indicate that faculty across campus feel that there is a substantial discrepancy between current Kentucky State University salaries and the salaries offered for similar positions at comparable institutions.

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