Two-thirds of independent US colleges and universities polled in a recent survey said they plan to freeze employee salaries. Of those respondents, 80% said the freeze would be imposed across the institution; 15% said it would affect only the president and top executives; and 6% said only the president's salary would be capped.

Yet 24% of all respondents said they plan compensation increases, with 87% of that group expecting to raise salaries across the board. Nine per cent of respondents predicted they would make pay cuts, with 64% of those saying the reduction would be institution-wide. The survey, conducted in June by consultants Yaffe & Company of Towson, Maryland, produced responses from 259 institutions in 39 states.