The UNC System president just got a hefty bonus, but it’s less than last year

UNC System President Peter Hans is getting a hefty bonus this year — but it’s about $20,000 less than last year.

That’s because his yearly incentive compensation is linked to institutional performance.

The UNC Board of Governors unanimously approved the one-time incentive of $453,720 paid to Hans’ retirement account on Wednesday, doubling his base salary for the year of $454,564. It’s the first time Hans’ bonus incentive amount decreased. His first bonus, awarded to him in November 2021, was $300,000. In 2022, he received a $451,200 bonus . Last year, he received $475,200 .

Compared to previous presidents Margaret Spellings and Bill Roper, Hans’ base salary is low. When he began the job, his salary was $400,000 . Spellings and Roper had a $775,000 base salary with approximately $100,000 in annual bonuses. Last year, his position’s annual base salary was $424,350, UNC System spokesperson Andy Wallace told The News & Observer.

In 2020, Hans asked for that amount paired with incentive increases of up to $600,000 tied to institutional performance.

“I am bound by the metrics, appropriately so,” he told The N&O after the board meeting on Wednesday.

The presidential assessment committee conducts annual performance checks for the system president and plays a big part in deciding the size of Hans’ bonuses. The committee assessed the president’s performance and presented its report to the Board of Governors on Wednesday.

How did the committee measure Hans’ performance?

Hans’ performance for the year was measured through an incentive compensation program based on specific quantitative and qualitative performance goals set by the Board of Governors, board Chair Wendy Murphy said.

Quantitative performance metrics for Hans that the committee looked at included increasing on-time graduation for first-time and transfer undergraduate students, reducing education and related expenses per degree completed, and reducing the average student loan debt of bachelor’s degree recipients as a percentage of per-capita income.

Qualitative metrics revolved around his leadership and management of UNC System operations.

In her presentation of the president’s compensation report, Murphy highlighted as reasons for the increased bonus:

▪ Hans’ focus on affordability of in-state tuition and limiting student fees.

The report noted that tuition for North Carolina residents remained flat for the eighth year under Hans’ leadership. It also brought attention to the $420 million from the state legislature allocated to expand health care in rural areas and Hans’ plan to distribute $40 million in state funding to UNC System nursing programs to address the growing shortage of nurses in the state.

▪ His commitment to neutrality and protecting free speech.

In May, as the Board of Governors repealed the UNC system’s diversity, equity and inclusion requirements , Hans said students and faculty should be allowed to encounter both liberal and conservative ideas, but that “it’s vital that college administrators stay out of it altogether.”

▪ His work with several completed and ongoing chancellor searches.

He concluded the searches for chancellors Kimberly van Noort of UNC Asheville , Bonita Brown of Winston-Salem State University , Karrie Dixon of N.C. Central University and James Martin of N.C. A&T State University . He is in the midst of chancellor searches for four other universities: UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Appalachian State University and Elizabeth City State University.

Murphy praised Hans for his leadership, saying “to say the job is difficult is to drastically understate the demands of the role.”

After the meeting, Murphy told reporters that she has seen several polls that show confidence in higher education at an all-time low. In response, she pointed to the value that universities within the UNC System bring to the state.

A 2023 Gallup poll found that only 36% of Americans were confident in higher education — a decline from 2015, when 57% of Americans were confident in the country’s higher education systems.