• Introduction
• Tenure of Faculty in Title IV Degree-Granting Institutions
• Average Salaries of Faculty in Title IV Degree Granting Institutions

This report presents tabulations for academic year 1998-99 of the number, tenure, and average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts. These data are from the "Salaries, Tenure, and Fringe Benefits of Full-Time Instructional Faculty Survey," a component of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

Data in this report present faculty salaries for the 1998-99 academic year in all degree-granting postsecondary institutions eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs. NCES subdivides the postsecondary institutional universe into schools that are eligible to receive Title IV federal financial assistance and those that are not. Lists of Title IV postsecondary institutions are maintained by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education, through the Postsecondary Education Participation System (PEPS) file.

In 1998-99, degree-granting institutions (those offering programs resulting in associate's or higher degrees) reported that 60 percent of the total full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts were tenured (232,736 out of 390,276). When the data are examined by gender, 67 percent of men and 48 percent of women were tenured. The percent who were tenured also varied by state: Arkansas reported that 43 percent of its 3,663 faculty were tenured, while California reported that 72 percent of its 37,920 faculty were tenured. California also reported the largest number of faculty.

In 1998-99, the 3,921 postsecondary degree-granting institutions reported 390,276 full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts and average salaries of $54,097 for all ranks combined. Average salaries varied by academic rank and ranged from $71,322 for professors to $33,819 for instructors (figure A).

Figure A.-Average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic rank, 50 states and the District of Columbia: Academic year 1998-99

At degree-granting institutions, male faculty earned an average of about $10,600 more than female faculty, all ranks combined. This disparity is greater than any difference within a rank because relatively few women are reported with a rank of assistant professor or higher. Within faculty ranks, the differential between men's and women's salaries was highest among professors and declined with decreasing rank to the level of instructor. Among professors, men's salaries averaged about $9,000 more than women's salaries; among associate professors, the difference in average salaries was about $3,500; among assistant professors, it was about $2,800; and among instructors, it was less than $1,600.

Faculty in 4-year degree-granting institutions had noticeably higher salaries than those in 2-year degree-granting institutions. On average, faculty in 4-year schools earned over $9,000 more per year than those in 2-year institutions. Those faculty in the academic ranks of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor had higher average salaries in 4-year institutions than in 2-year institutions; while those faculty in the ranks of instructor and lecturer, as well as those with no academic rank, had higher average salaries in 2-year than in 4-year institutions (figure B).*

For all ranks combined, average salaries in 2-year public institutions were $10,300 higher than those in 2-year private not-for-profit institutions. When examined by academic rank, the difference was about $20,300 for professors, about $12,200 for associate professors, and about $9,300 for assistant professors.

Figure B.-Average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic rank and level of institution, 50 states and the District of Columbia: Academic year 1998-99

The states with the highest salaries for full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in public institutions were California, Connecticut, Delaware, and New Jersey, with average salaries of over $60,000 per year. In contrast, the salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in public institutions were lowest in North and South Dakota, with averages at or under $40,000 per year.

Average salaries for all faculty ranks combined were higher in private not-for-profit degree-granting institutions than in public degree-granting institutions ($56,133 and $53,319, respectively) (figure C). Salaries in public 4-year institutions for all ranks combined were lower ($55,948) than in private not-for-profit 4-year institutions ($56,371). Average salaries for professors, instructors, and lecturers were lower in public 4-year institutions than in 4-year private not-for-profit institutions (figure D).

Figure C.-Average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic rank and control, 50 states and the District of Columbia: Academic year 1998-99

Among the states, average salaries for full-time instructional faculty in public 4-year degree-granting institutions were higher in California and New Jersey than in any other state. Louisiana, North Dakota, and South Dakota were the only states where full-time instructional faculty in public 4-year institutions earned an average salary of less than $45,000.

Figure D.-Average salaries of full-time instructional faculty on 9- and 10-month contracts in 4-year Title IV degree-granting institutions, by academic rank and control, 50 states and the District of Columbia: Academic year 1998-99