On the effectiveness of remuneration of public universities’ lecturers in Poland

Abstract

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aims of this article are: (1) to define the role of remuneration of academic staff in shaping human capital; (2) to present the dynamics of changes in the remuneration of lecturers in Poland and its comparison with changes in the minimum wage, economic growth and the inflation rate; (3) to propose a model of changes in the minimum wage of a professor as a function of changes in the minimum wage. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: In order to ensure the proper level of training of academic staff, it is necessary to implement a remuneration system to attract and retain the best staff. To that end method of analysis and logical construction was used, which allowed to present a method for optimization of remuneration of academic staff in Poland. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The insufficient funding in Polish higher education was identified, especially the low-level of salaries of academic staff in relation to the their high responsibility. Then, the dynamics of change of professor’s minimum wage, the national minimum wage, the GDP, and the CPI were analyzed and compared. On these basis, a model for remuneration of academic staff in Poland was proposed. RESEARCH RESULTS: The results showed that the minimum wage of a professor in 2012–2023 grew slower than the minimum wage on average, and in 2023 it is approximately twice as high as the minimum wage. As a solution to the problem of determining the professor’s remuneration, the article proposes a model that will transparently determine the change on an annual basis. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: With regard to higher education, an appropriate remuneration system allows for the creation of academic staff that guarantees high-quality education in all aspects, i.e. theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge and cognitive skills.