RADFORD -- Radford University addressed some immediate faculty pay issues Friday while unveiling a grander plan to increase salaries in the long term.

The Board of Visitors passed three types of faculty pay increases recommended Friday by its academic affairs committee.

But before the board approved those changes, Wil Stanton, acting vice president for academic affairs, gave a presentation outlining the importance for Radford to move into another national peer group.

The state set up peer groups in the mid-1980s as a way to set goals for faculty salaries at different schools.

While some schools, such as James Madison University, have moved to peer groups with higher salaries in recent years, Radford hasn't.

When the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia last offered to discuss the issue of changing peer groups with state colleges in 1997, Radford passed on the option, reasoning that it was better to look good among a lower peer group.

Stanton said Friday that Radford's peer group should contain schools it aspires to be like.

While JMU shares a peer group with well-paying schools such as the University of Notre Dame and the University of Rhode Island, Radford is in the same group as Appalachian State and Middle Tennessee State universities.

"Over time our peers didn't seem to reflect who we are or what we're about," Stanton said.

As a result, Radford faculty salaries consistently rank near the bottom statewide.

If the school were in a higher peer group, it would see an increase in funding for those salaries from the state, Stanton said.

University staff have been in discussions with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia about criteria used for designating peer groups. The state uses measurements such as SAT scores, types of degrees awarded and innovative programs offered.

After fully reviewing how the state makes its decisions, Radford will be ready to request a change.

When that time comes, developments at the school such as the creation of a College of Information, Science and Technology and expansion of its health care program need to be emphasized, Stanton said.

SCHEV Financial Policy Director Dan Hix said the state would look at some national data in the spring and summer before sitting down to discuss a possible peer group change with Radford.

Faculty Senate President Claire Waldron said she knows the changes will take time, but she was encouraged Friday by the board's actions and Stanton's presentation.

"Fixing a problem won't happen unless everyone understands the nature and the extent of the problem," Waldron said. "I think we've done that. I think we're all on the same page."

A brief look at the three changes in faculty salaries approved by the Board of Visitors Friday:

Previous raises of $1,100, $1,500 and $2,100 respectively for promotions to assistant, associate and full professorships will now be $2,500, $3,500 and $5,000 starting with promotions effective this fall. The pay increases will cost the school about $27,000 in next year's budget.

Larger stipends for faculty who become department chairs starting this fall. The range of stipends for faculty who take on those positions will change from between $4,000 and $8,000 to $6,000 and $12,000. The portion of the stipend former chairs will retain after service will also increase. The total cost of those measures next year will be about $60,000.

Increased compensation for professors who teach summer classes starting this year.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty received 2.25 percent of their annual salary per credit hour taught in the summer with a ceiling of $1,800 per credit hour. That ratio is 3.75 percent for faculty at Virginia Tech. The result, Stanton said, is a summer brain drain.

To help remedy that, Radford will increase its ratio to 3 percent and raise its maximum to $2,700 per credit hour.

Those changes will cost about $170,000 for the first half of the summer this year.