Effective Date
May 2026
Last Revision Date
May 2026
Scope and Audience
This policy applies to all full time Faculty within the School of Respiratory Care Sciences.
Policy Purpose
To establish guidelines and clarify the position of the School of Respiratory Care Sciences (SRCS) regarding increase in pay as an incentive for obtaining a Doctoral Degree.
Policy Statement
Prior to 2026, there was a precedent set within the College of Health Sciences that full time faculty members who obtained a doctoral degree in a related field with the objective of advancing strategic initiatives around teaching or scholarly activity were incentivized with a set amount increase to their base pay so long as units had the requisite funds to support the ongoing funding. This was an informal agreement between the then-Dean of the COHS and the Provost’s office and was not documented as formal policy.
By late 2025, this initiative was no longer supported by the COHS due to changes in the University’s budgetary structure. However, there were two SRCS faculty who were in the process of obtaining doctoral degrees when the initiative ended.
To support transparency and retention of talented faculty within the SRCS and to promote degree advancement to the doctoral level for respiratory care educators, full time faculty who were in the process of completing a doctoral degree prior to January 1, 2026 may still be eligible for an incentive based raise to their 9-month salary base. The SRCS will be responsible for funding any raises approved by the Dean of the COHS and University Provost.
Definitions
Doctoral Degree: A degree program classified as a doctorate (e.g., EdD, PhD, DHsc) by a regionally accredited institution of higher learning. The degree must be in a field relevant to the strategic initiatives of the SRCS and ultimately serve the mission, vision, and values of the school.
Base Salary: The 9-month base salary for a full time faculty member of the SRCS.
Incentive raise: A $5,000 increase in 9-month base salary for a full time faculty member
Eligibility
An eligible faculty member must have been a full time faculty member of the SRCS AND enrolled in a doctoral degree program prior to January 1, 2026 to be eligible for this incentive. Full time faculty members who enrolled in a program of study after that date are not eligible for incentive under this policy.
Workflow
Faculty members who were classified as full time AND enrolled in a doctoral degree program prior to January 1, 2026 must provide documentation of completion of the degree via official transcripts upon conferment of the degree.
The faculty member must submit a copy of the unofficial transcripts or diploma as proof of successful completion within 6 months of the conferment date to the SRCS Divisional Dean.
The Divisional Dean will work with the SRCS Business Analyst to submit a request for the incentive raise to the Dean of the COHS.
The Dean of the COHS will submit the request to the Provost for final approval.
If approved, the incentive will be added to the faculty contract at the most reasonable interval determined by the COHS Senior Business Operations Manager.
Administrative Modification
The Divisional Dean reserves the right to discontinue this program at any time, or temporarily freeze the participation of new applications based on budgetary considerations.