NORDP Annual Salary Survey – 2015
The annual NORDP salary survey is intended to collect a useful snapshot of salaries across the research
development (RD) profession, with the resulting report serving as a guide for leaders evaluating their current
RD budgets or institutions developing new RD activities or offices. The 2015 NORDP survey questions were
developed by the Member Services Subcommittee on Membership Metrics, with input from the Member
Services Committee and Board members, and included many of the questions from the 2012 survey. The
Membership Metrics Subcommittee was composed of NORDP members Gretchen Kiser (chair), Terri
Soelberg, Lorraine Mulfinger, and Ann McGuigan.
Notably, the 2015 survey included question to collected member institution zip codes, enabling paired analyses
using both actual reported salaries and salaries normalized using the 2013 county cost-of-living index table
from the Council for Community and Economic Research (coli.org; Arlington, VA). Both actual and normalized
salaries were then used to analyze that data with respect to multiple institutional and individual variables
including: Institution Type (public or private), Institution Geographic Location and Size (based on research
expenditures); Job Category (professional title); RD Office Size (as measured by FTEs); and Respondent
Demographics (gender, race, ethnicity and education). With such normalized salaries, our membership can
make an assessment of salary ranges considering the cost of living in their county.
The salary data presented in this report were collected in early 2015 and represent 212 substantive responses
from the 570 NORDP members, representing a robust 37% response rate, equal to the response rate in the
previous salary survey. Based on a comparison of the geographic distribution, as well as of the highest degree
attained, of the respondent group versus an anonymized, full NORDP membership list, the respondents
appear to represent a reasonable proxy for the entire membership. The survey instrument and data
management process received IRB approval through Boise State University, with Terri Soelberg as the lead.
The confidential online survey was administered to all NORDP members using a Qualtrics survey instrument.
This report presents collected 2015 salary data supporting the following findings and major conclusions:
•
34.8% of NORDP members’ salaries fall into the $50 – 75K range, with 29.4% of members having
salaries in the $75 - 100K range (normalized 40.9% and 27.8%, respectively).
•
52.8% of survey respondents hold a title of Director/Assistant or Associate Director/Manager, with
24.9% holding a title of Coordinator/Officer/Specialist/Administrator/Analyst/Facilitator/Grant Writer.
9.0% of the respondent members hold higher level institutional leadership positions of Associate or
Assistant Dean or Vice Provost/Chancellor or Vice Chancellor/President (full/Assistant/Associate).
•
Within the Director/Manager position, those having 5-9 or >9 FTEs in their unit reported the highest
median annual salaries, $109.5K or $100K, respectively. Upon normalization according to the cost-ofliving, these converge to ~$92.5K annually.
•
For the Coordinator/Officer/Specialist/Administrator/Analyst/Facilitator position, there is very little
difference in the median salaries of those from different sized offices (annual salaries range from $59K
to $68K) and this range flattens further upon cost-of-living normalization (to between $56K and $62K).
•
Atlantic and Pacific region members reported the highest median salary; however, when normalized for
the cost-of-living, Atlantic and Southwest region members reported the highest median salary. The
Southeast region members reported the lowest median actual salary but when normalized the
Northeast region member salaries slid lower than the Southeast.
•
The highest median normalized salary was reported by members at doctorate-granting Universities.
•
Higher median salaries were reported by members at private institutions (22% of total) compared to
members at public institutions (78% of total). Notably, this flips when salaries are normalized by the
cost-of-living index.
•
Interestingly, the highest median salaries (actual and normalized) were reported by members at
institutions that had annual research award portfolios greater than $1B or less than $1M.
•
The highest median normalized salary was reported by members who have obtained PhD and JD as
their terminal degree; however, when looking at actual salaries, those with MS and PhD degrees have
equal median salaries.
•
Offices with the largest number of FTEs (>9) are associated with slightly higher median salaries.
•
82% of survey respondents reported their gender as female and 17% as male. (1% preferred not to
answer.)
•
3.3% of survey respondents reported their ethnicity as Hispanic/Latino, and 10.4% reported as “other”
than Hispanic or Non-Hispanic.
•
90% of survey respondents reported their race as White, and 3.8% reported Asian, 2.4% reported
Black/African American, and 0.5% reported Native American.
The graphical presentation of various analyses of the survey data follows below. Note that data was pooled
where necessary to maintain the anonymity of the respondents; no data point is shown for any category that
contained less than 5 NORDP members.
Figure 1A: % Respondents by Reported Annual Salary Range
40.0%
34.8%
29.4%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
14.2%
8.8%
5.9%
3.4%
2.9%
0.0%
0.5%
Figure 1B: % Respondents by COLI-Normalized Annual Salary Range
40.9%
40.0%
27.8%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
13.6%
10.1%
4.0%
2.5%
1.0%
0.0%
Figure 2B: Annual Salaries by Job Category (Max, Min & Median)
Salary in Thousands
$250
$200
$175
$150
$100
$50
$123
$91
$80
$70
$60
$75
$62
$71
$0
*Includes Full, Associate & Assistant Vice Provosts,
Vice Chancellors & Vice Presidents
**Includes Dept Chair, Researcher/Faculty, Exec
Director & Consultant Categories where n = <5
Figure 2C: COLI-Normalized Annual Salaries by Job Category
(Max, Min & Median)
Salary in Thousands
$250
$200
$150
$134
$105
$100
$82
$50
$74
$64
$61
$60
$62
$71
$0
*Includes Full, Associate & Assistant Vice Provosts,
Vice Chancellors & Vice Presidents
**Includes Dept Chair, Researcher/Faculty, Exec
Director & Consultant Categories where n = <5
Figure 2D: Director/Manager Raw Salary by Size of Unit
(Range and Median) N=78
Salary in Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$90
$87
$91.5
$109.5
$100
$50
$0
No formal or <1FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
Size of Office
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTEs
Figure 2E: Director/Manager Normalized Salary by Size of Unit
(Range and Median) N=76
Salary in Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$50
$79
$84
$93
$92
$51
$0
No formal or <1FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTEs
Size of Office
Figure 2F: Coordinator/Officer/Specialist/Administrator/Analyst/
Facilitator Raw Salary by Size of Unit (Range and Median) N=44
Salary in Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$50
$64
$68
$60
$63
$59
$0
No formal or <1FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
Size of Office
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTEs
Figure 2G: Coordinator/Officer/Specialist/Administrator/Analyst/
Facilitator Normalized Salary by Size of Unit (Range and Median) N=43
Salary in Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$62
$50
$61
$57
$56
$60
$0
No formal or <1FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTES
Size of Office
Figure 3A: % Survey Respondents by Region
N=207
Atlantic (Region 2): DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, DC,
VA; International: Europe, Africa, Western
Russia, China, countries west and south of
China
9%
14%
Northeast (Region 1): CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT;
International: Quebec, Ontario
Southeast (Region 3): AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA,
MS, NC, SC, TN, WV; International: Puerto
Rico, US Virgin Islands, South America
16%
15%
Great Lakes (Region 4): IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI;
International: Manitoba
Midwest/Mountain (Region 5): IA, KS, MO,
NE, ND, SD, ID, MT, WY, NV, CO, UT;
International: Alberta, Saskatchewan
14%
Southwest (Region 6): AZ, NM, OK, TX;
International: Mexico, Central America
14%
18%
Pacific (Region 7): AK, CA, HI, OR, WA;
International: British Columbia, Eastern
Russia, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Australia,
New Zealand, and other countries east of
China
Figure 3B: Salary by Region (Max, Min & Median)
N=207
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$81.7
$96.0
$50
$68.3
$77.0
$72.5
$77.0
$97.0
$0
Figure 3C: COLI-Normalized Salary by Region
(Max, Min & Median) N= 201
$250.0
Thousands
$200.0
$150.0
$100.0
$50.0
$0.0
$61.5
$82.5
$66.6
$72.4
$69.3
$73.4
$69.2
Figure 4A: % Survey Respondents by RD Unit/Department Type
1.9%
1.0%
1.4% 2.9%
Central/Institutional RD Office
Unit/College/School-level RD
Office
3.8%
Sponsored Research Programs
Office
Researcher/Academic
Department
15.8%
Corporate/Foundation Relations
48.3%
Consultant/Consulting Firm
International Office
All Others*
24.9%
*Category "Others" includes International Office,
Business/Industry, Federal Government Relations
Foundation/Nonprofit and Misc
Figure 4B: Annual Salaries by RD Unit Type (Max, Min & Median)
$250
Salary in Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$79
$80
$80
$50
$-
Central/Instit R&D Unit/College/School
(n=101)
R&D (n-51)
Spon
Research/Progs
Office (n=33)
$72
Researcher/Acad
Dept (n=8)
$93
Other* (n=15)
Figure 4C: COLI-Normalized Annual Salaries by RD Unit Type
(Max, Min & Median)
Salary in Thousands
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$-
$72
$72
Central/Instit R&D Unit/College/School
(n=97)
R&D (n-50)
$66
Spon
Research/Progs
Office (n=31)
$80
$66
Researcher/Acad
Dept (n=8)
Other* (n=15)
* “Other” includes any response category having less than 5 respondents to protect anonymity. These include:
Corporate/Foundation Relations, Federal/Government Relations, Business/Industry, Consultant/Consulting
Firm, International Office, Foundation, and any unspecified other affiliations.
3%
2%
Figure 5A: % Respondents by Institution Type
N=207
1%
4%
Doctorate-granting University
5%
Master's College/University
Baccalaureate College
Research Institute
For-profit Business/Industry of
25 or more employees
85%
Other
Figure 5B: Raw Salary by Institution Type (Max, Min & Median)
N=207
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$80.0
$50
$72.5
$71.5
$89.5
$0
Doctorate-granting
University
Master's
College/University
Baccalaureate College
Other*
*Categories containing less than 5 respondents are combined into 'Other' to protect
anonymity. These include: Research Institute, Hospital, For-Profit >25 employees, For-Profit
<25 employees, and other.
Figure 5C: COLI-Normalize Salary by Institution Type
(Max, Min & Median) N=201
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$50
$73.4
$65.0
$64.3
$64.8
$-
Doctorate-granting
University
Master's
College/University
Baccalaureate College
Other*
*Categories containing less than 5 respondents are combined into 'Other' to protect
anonymity. These include: Research Institute, Hospital, For-Profit >25 employees, For-Profit
<25 employees, and other.
Figure 6A: % Respondents by Public vs Private Institution
N=205
22%
Private
78%
Figure 6B: Raw Salary Public vs Private Institution
(Max, Min & Median) N=205
Thousands
$250
$200
$150
$100
$85
$50
$78
$0
Private
Public
Public
Figure 6C: COLI-Normalized Salary Public vs. Private
Institution (Max, Min & Median) N=199
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$71.7
$66.2
$50
$0
Private
Public
Figure 7A: % Respondents by Size of RD Unit
N=204
9%
8%
No formal office or less than 1 FTE
19%
1-2 FTEs
33%
3-4 FTEs
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTEs
31%
Figure 7B: Raw Salary by Size of RD Unit
(Max, Min & Median) N=204
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$90.0
$77.0
$95.0
$81.0
$76.5
$50
$0
No formal
office or <1
FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTE
Size of RD Office
Figure 7C: COLI-Normalized Salary by Size of RD
Unit (Max, Min & Median) N=198
$250
$200
Thousands
$150
$100
$50
$64.4
$71.5
$73.9
$70.7
$79.8
$0
No formal
office or <1
FTE
1-2 FTEs
3-4 FTEs
Size of RD Office
5-9 FTEs
>9 FTE
Figure 8A: % Respondents by Institutional
Annual (2012) Research Expenditures
7.1%
4.0%
5.6%
3.0%
6.6%
11.1%
14.6%
Up to $1M
>$1-10M
>$10-50M
>$50-100M
>$100-200M
>$200-400M
>$400-600M
>$600-800M
>$800M-$1B
>$1-1.4B
4.5%
15.7%
10.6%
Unknown
17.2%
Respondent Salary in Thousands
Figure 8B: Reported Salaries by Institutional Annual (2012)
Research Expenditures (Min, Max, Median)
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$106
$84
$71
$67
$78
$79
$-
Annual (2012) Institutional Expenditures
$81
$88
$104
$82
Respondent Salary in Thousands
Figure 8C: COLI-Normalized Salaries by Institutional Annual
(2012) Research Expenditures (Min, Max, Median)
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$95
$82
$65
$63
$72
$70
$-
Annual (2012) Institutional Expenditures
$74
$78
$72
$90
Figure 9A: % Respondents by Highest Degree Earned
3%
2%
2%
5%
3%
4%
37%
PhD
MA
MBA
MS
BS
BA
MPA
MEd
EdD
JD
5%
6%
Other*
13%
*Other includes MFA, MPH, MPA, MLIS, MPP,
MSW, MTPC, MLS, & Diploma
20%
Figure 9B: Raw Annual Salaries by Highest Degree Earned
(Max, Min & Median)
Thousands
$250
$200
$155
$150
$100
$50
$-
$90
$76
$70
$90
$79
$67
$70
$67
$80
$62
Thousands
$250
Figure 9C: COLI-Normalized Annual Salaries by Highest Degree
(Max, Min & Median)
$200
$150
$100
$50
$115
$82
$64
$66
$75
$61
$65
$63
$68
$70
$61
$-
*’Other’ for Figures 9B and 9C includes these categories having less than 4 respondents: Diploma, MFA, MLS, MPA,
MLIS, MPH, MPP, MSW and MTPC.
1%
Figure 10A: % Respondents by Gender
N=207
17%
Male
Female
Prefer not to answer
82%
Figure 10B: Raw Salary by Gender
(Max, Min & Median) N=206*
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$79.8
$85
$50
$0
Female
Male
* Actual N=207, but one indicated 'prefer not to answer'
Figure 10C: COLI-Normalized Salary by Gender
(Max, Min & Median) N=200*
$200
Thousands
$150
$100
$50
$69.1
$80.8
$0
Female
Male
*Actual N= 201, but one indicated 'prefer not to answer'
Figure 11A: % Respondents by Reported Ethnicity
3.3%
5.2%
Hispanic/Latino
10.4%
No Answer
Other
Non-Hispanic/ Non-Latino
86.3%
Figure 11B: % Respondents by Reported Race
0.5% 2.4%
3.3%
3.8%
American Indian/ Alaskan Native
Black/African American
Other/Two/No Answer
Asian
White
90.0%
0.5%
Figure 11C: % Respondents by Race and Ethnicity
3.8%
2.4%
2.8%
3.3%
American Indian/ Alaskan Native
Asian
Black or African American/ NonHispanic
Hispanic
Other/Two/No Answer
White/Non-Hispanic
87.2%
Figure 11D: Salaries by Race/Ethnicity (Max, Min & Median)
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$98
$90
$110
$78
$50
$-
Asian (n=8)
Black or African
American/ NonHispanic (n=5)
Hispanic (n=6)
White/Non-Hispanic
(n-184)
$103
Other/Two/No
Answer (n=8)
Figure 11E: COLI-Normalized Salaries by Race/Ethnicity
(Max, Min & Median)
$250
Thousands
$200
$150
$100
$50
$80
$76
$101
$70
$97
$-
Asian (n=8)
Black or African
American/ NonHispanic (n=5)
Hispanic (n=6)
White/Non-Hispanic
(n-184)
Other/Two/No
Answer (n=8)
We hope that you find this information helpful! Questions about the survey or this report can be directed to
Chair of the Membership Metrics Subcommittee, Gretchen Kiser, PhD ([email protected]).