Republic of turkey

14. STRATEGIC CHOICES TO RAISE THE LIFE STANDARDS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY AND DEVELOP THE EMPLOYEE RIGHTS

The success of a higher education system depends mainly on attracting well-educated people in a society. It is clear that the magnetism of a profession not only depends on the income it offers, but it is also affected by other kinds of enthusiasm and satisfaction. However, this inference doesn’t mean that the income that the profession provides is unimportant. Compared to others, if a profession is continuously and relatively facing with loss of to lead an honourable life, it is obvious that it will considerably lose its magnetism.

While evaluating the current situation in the first part, we dwelt on the loss of relative and continuous income that instructors faced. Those instructors, especially novice, get very low income, and as a result of this they don’t regard universities as appealing places, were mentioned above. Due to current higher education personnel regime, it is impossible to mention the development of a performance compatible to university ethics. In order to meet the needs of their family, instructors need to find an extra job that won’t affect their academic studies. To improve the performance of instructors in Turkey, a lot of things are mentioned, but when it comes to income, an indifferent policy occurs. It is difficult to understand this situation.

Things to apply in order to augment both the magnetism and efficiency of universities are arranged in an order like that:

1. 
   An increase should be made in the salaries of personnel in a higher education.
   
2. 
   Regarding the differentiation in performance, a waging system should be established.
   
3. 
   In order to meet this aim, budgeting process should be reorganized.
   
4. 
   The tenure of the members of faculty should be reorganized.
   

• 
  If Turkey wants to get the output she expects from the higher education institutions, she has to undergo a new personnel regime in universities, which will both improve the performance and increase the income level. While suggesting this kind of a new personnel regime, increasing the wages is not the only matter, mentioned. These suggestions should be related with performance so as to be persuasive considering the decision mechanisms.
  
• 
  A considerable increase should be made in the average income of personnel, working in higher education system. This increase in income should be for the ones who have the academic position of assistant professorship. A part of this increase can be given in the name of reward so that differentiating the income regarding the performances of academic personnel can be provided. It can be said that the members of the faculty can increase their income by collaborating with industry or having projects. For those who try these ways have no income problem. This determination is true. The importance of performance based income differentiation isn’t for these groups. Suggested reward mechanisms should be used to award the parts that don’t meet the short- ranged request of the market or the politics, the parts that fulfil the defending function of lower-income part of the society which isn’t awarded by the market and the parts that fulfil the long-ranged functions of universities or again the parts that contribute to science of world. Also, it shouldn’t be forgotten that unequal workload of instructors in universities is a complaining issue. If there such a mechanism exists, the ones who have overloaded work with self-sacrifice will be more peaceful. Therefore, a performance based income differentiation has a special importance to protect the peculiarities of being microcosm of a university.
  
• 
  How to measure the performance in the success of such a system will be important. The universities should be set free to design performance criteria coherent with their vision and mission extensively. This freedom means that giving an effective tool to each university to apply their own strategic plans.
  
• 
  While applying such a waging system, foundation universities won’t confront with important difficulties. However, in the application of such a system in state universities there can problems because of the law of Higher Education Personnel no 2914 and the logic of law no 5018. New laws and budget applications that will overcome the difficulties must be improved. The main difficulty can appear related to reward that will be distributed according to the performance. As it is being done currently, according to logic of law no 5018 keeping the income that universities supplied themselves under a central controlling will cause difficulties on the way of finding solutions on this subject.
  
• 
  The second issue that the members of the faculty should decide for their employee personnel rights reasons is tenure. On deciding which members of the faculty will have tenure, it should be tried to be realized the three different aims together. The first one is trying to get a successful member of faculty to work in a secure atmosphere by rewarding him/her. The second one is stopping the loss of the pyramid shape of distribution of rank of the titles of academic staff of the departments. The third one is hindering the situation that is losing one member of faculty’s motivation which appears after the tenure.
  

In order to apply the tenure in a way that realises these three conditions some important factors should be taken into consideration like while the universities are preparing their strategic plans, departments should decide their ideal staff, however, if there is no place in the ideal position, the tenure shouldn’t be given to the promoted member of faculty, in addition while giving the tenure, there shouldn't be inbreeding. As it is mentioned in previous parts, because in this strategy the number of universities and member of faculty will be increased, the application of this approach will be easy. In the universities that have already completed their establishment, the application of ideal staff will prevent over staffing and for newly established universities, and it will be easy to attract professional members of faculty.

If there can be an opportunity to allot a financial source including personnel expenditures, there will be no need to undergo a control mechanism.