		REPORT ON AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AFIT): STUDY FOR SENATE AND HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES CHAPTER SIX *The Employment and Compensation of Civilian Professors at the Institute* Title 10, United States Code, Section 9314 authorizes the employment and compensation of civilian professors at AFIT. Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 36-8, Employee Benefits and Entitlements, is implemented through Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-804; Civilian Faculty Pay Plan for Air University and the USAF Academy (29 April 1994)¹ and Air University (AU) Supplement 1 to AFI 36-804 (10 July 2000) governs the implementation of the faculty pay at both AFIT at Wright-Patterson AFB OH and the AU schools at Maxwell AFB AL. These instructions establish the requirements for appointment, reappointment, academic rank, tenure (if applicable), salary step adjustments, and merit awards for civilian faculty. The Secretary of the Air Force has delegated to the Director of Personnel Force Management the authority to prescribe basic pay rates for faculty. The Faculty Pay Plan (FPP) sets pay for faculty positions based on academic rank (instructor, assistant, associate and full professor and deans or senior managers) with minimum and maximum step levels within each rank. The maximum payable rate is limited to the rate for Level III of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304 (g) (2)), currently capped at $133,700. This cap was not affected by the actions referenced in this report. Due to AFIT's drawdown in the mid- to late-1990s, 20 of the graduate school's 51 civilian faculty members either retired or left to take other positions. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering currently has five vacancies; the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has three vacancies; the Department of Operational Sciences has two vacancies. The institute has had difficulty filling these positions. A competitive FPP is a crucial ingredient in the process of attracting and retaining quality faculty members. Another difficulty that AFIT has encountered in hiring faculty is the statutory requirement that Federal degree-granting institutions hire only US citizens. Neither private graduate schools nor other public education institutions face such a restriction. As a result, AFIT and the other Federal degree-granting schools have a smaller pool of eligible applicants, particularly for faculty in the sciences, engineering, and some management disciplines. Although the data is not readily available regarding the citizenship of faculty members at non-Federal institutions, the US Department of Education and the AAUP do report the percentage of doctorates earned by US and non-US citizens each year. These are classified into broad disciplinary groups, including engineering and the physical sciences. According to data published annually by the AAUP, the percentage of doctorates awarded to non-US citizens each year in engineering and the physical sciences has been 45-60 percent for the last decade.² Recommendation: Continue efforts to reduce faculty hiring shortfall. 1. AFI 36-804 superseded Air Force Regulation (AFR) 40-533 (23 March 1990). 2. Source: Annual reports on numbers of earned doctorates in the "Facts and Figures" section of the Chronicle of Higher Education home page, http://chronicle.com.

REPORT ON AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AFIT):
STUDY FOR SENATE AND HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES

CHAPTER SIX

The Employment and Compensation of Civilian Professors at the Institute

Title 10, United States Code, Section 9314 authorizes the employment and compensation of civilian professors at AFIT. Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 36-8, Employee Benefits and Entitlements, is implemented through Air Force Instruction (AFI) 36-804; Civilian Faculty Pay Plan for Air University and the USAF Academy (29 April 1994)¹ and Air University (AU) Supplement 1 to AFI 36-804 (10 July 2000) governs the implementation of the faculty pay at both AFIT at Wright-Patterson AFB OH and the AU schools at Maxwell AFB AL. These instructions establish the requirements for appointment, reappointment, academic rank, tenure (if applicable), salary step adjustments, and merit awards for civilian faculty.

The Secretary of the Air Force has delegated to the Director of Personnel Force Management the authority to prescribe basic pay rates for faculty. The Faculty Pay Plan (FPP) sets pay for faculty positions based on academic rank (instructor, assistant, associate and full professor and deans or senior managers) with minimum and maximum step levels within each rank. The maximum payable rate is limited to the rate for Level III of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5304 (g) (2)), currently capped at $133,700. This cap was not affected by the actions referenced in this report.

Due to AFIT's drawdown in the mid- to late-1990s, 20 of the graduate school's 51 civilian faculty members either retired or left to take other positions. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering currently has five vacancies; the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics has three vacancies; the Department of Operational Sciences has two vacancies. The institute has had difficulty filling these positions. A competitive FPP is a crucial ingredient in the process of attracting and retaining quality faculty members.

Another difficulty that AFIT has encountered in hiring faculty is the statutory requirement that Federal degree-granting institutions hire only US citizens. Neither private graduate schools nor other public education institutions face such a restriction. As a result, AFIT and the other Federal degree-granting schools have a smaller pool of eligible applicants, particularly for faculty in the sciences, engineering, and some management disciplines. Although the data is not readily available regarding the citizenship of faculty members at non-Federal institutions, the US Department of Education and the AAUP do report the percentage of doctorates earned by US and non-US citizens each year. These are classified into broad disciplinary groups, including engineering and the physical sciences. According to data published annually by the AAUP, the percentage of doctorates awarded to non-US citizens each year in engineering and the physical sciences has been 45-60 percent for the last decade.²

Recommendation: Continue efforts to reduce faculty hiring shortfall.

1. AFI 36-804 superseded Air Force Regulation (AFR) 40-533 (23 March 1990).
2. Source: Annual reports on numbers of earned doctorates in the "Facts and Figures" section of the Chronicle of Higher Education home page, http://chronicle.com.

REPORT ON AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AFIT): STUDY FOR SENATE AND HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES

REPORT ON AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AFIT):
STUDY FOR SENATE AND HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEES