The next chancellor of the North Dakota University System and the next presidents of colleges in Mayville and Wahpeton will be offered two-year initial contracts.

The departure from the standard three-year contracts offered by the state Board of Higher Education is aimed at giving the board an earlier opportunity to deal with hires who turn out not to be good fits, Chancellor Eddie Dunn said.

"Longer-term contracts make it difficult to rectify those situations," he said Tuesday after the board approved the contract offers it will make to the next presidents of Mayville State University and the state College of Science, as well as the new chancellor.

Dunn is retiring in June. He was hired after Chancellor Robert Potts decided to resign last summer following disagreements with some board members over his authority. The board last July approved a buyout of the third year of Potts' three-year contract, paying him $214,750 to step down and provide consulting advice if asked.

Dunn said Tuesday that the change to offering two-year initial contracts was "no reflection on past presidents and chancellors. That has not been the center of it."

The board also is moving away from offering housing allowances, and instead incorporating the money into base salaries.

Dunn said it is not common for small U.S. colleges to offer housing allowances, and boosting salaries might make offers more tempting. Consultants say "the most important factor that candidates look at … is really the salary," he said.

The Board of Higher Education is set to decide next week on the new presidents for Mayville State and Science, along with a new chancellor to oversee the university system of 11 public colleges and universities.

On Tuesday, board members voted to offer the next president of Mayville an annual $138,000 salary and the next Science president $134,000. Both presidents would get an $11,000 vehicle allowance. The experience of the finalists for the jobs was a factor in the amounts, officials said.

The next chancellor will be offered an annual salary somewhere between $170,000 and $200,000. The board will determine the exact amount after interviewing the two finalists for a second time today in Bismarck, said board President John Q. Paulsen. The new chancellor also will get a $20,000 housing and hosting allowance, as well as an $11,000 vehicle allowance. "Hosting" refers to entertaining others as part of the chancellor's job.

Board member Richie Smith questioned whether the $11,000 vehicle allowance, which was set in 2003, is adequate given the high cost of fuel.

University System attorney Pat Seaworth said that question likely will be answered by an upcoming report from a compensation consultant and work by a compensation task force of board members.

If an increase in the vehicle allowance is warranted, it likely would be done "across the board for all the presidents at one time," Seaworth said.

Dunn said the task force is expected to begin its work after the Legislature wraps up this spring.

The field of applicants for chancellor is down to two finalists: William Goetz, Gov. John Hoeven's chief of staff, and Paul Keys, provost and vice president for academic and student affairs at Governors State University, in University Park, Ill. The board is to name a new chancellor on Feb. 23.

Mayville State's top job has four finalists, including interim President Gary Hagen, the school's vice president of academic affairs. The others are Gregory Aloia, Florida Atlantic University dean of education; Cheri Jimeno, a provost at Montana State University-Northern; and Paul Theobold, department chairman at Buffalo State College in New York. The board is to pick one of the finalists on Feb. 21.

A day earlier, the board is to select one of the four finalists for the Science presidency: David Devier, dean and chief executive of the University of Cincinnati's Clermont College in Batavia, Ohio; Mike Dreith, president of Frontier Community College in Fairfield, Ill.; Jerry Migler, provost of Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead and former NDSCS administrator; and John Richman, NDSCS vice president of academic affairs and interim president.