Faculty Compensation Project

The faculty compensation project and market analysis resulted in the following:

Tenured professors and instructors make up the majority of individuals with salaries identified as below market. View the market index.

Compensation increases for academic rank promotions were adjusted based on market data. See the following promotion increases that were effective earlier this year. Market rates for faculty were established using CIP codes. Each academic rank within each CIP code has a separate market rate (the midpoint). See example of market rates.

Market adjustments for faculty, which  include the 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase added to their base pay effective earlier this year, were determined by how close the faculty member’s compensation is to the established market rate. To see how the market adjustment is being implemented for faculty, view the chart below and the following example scenarios.

While the faculty and staff compensation projects were both performed by Huron Consulting Group, the faculty compensation project used different data than the staff compensation project to establish market pay rates and market adjustments.

The faculty compensation project compared salaries for faculty positions at the University of Arkansas to 82 peer institutions across each academic discipline and rank. The faculty compensation project utilized CUPA-HR (College and University Professional Association for Human Resources) and OSU (Oklahoma State University) datasets.

The staff classification and compensation project compared staff salaries across each industry and across peer institutions using data from CUPA, Mercer and the Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association (NOARK).  The staff project also created staff job profiles across the university and mapped those job profiles to market pay rates based on CUPA, Mercer and NOARK benchmarks.

The two projects are different because different datasets needed to be used to conduct each project. While both projects used CUPA data, the staff project compared staff salaries to market data across each industry and across peer institutions. Faculty positions are specific to each academic field of study, and therefore, the faculty compensation project was only able to compare faculty salaries across peer institutions in relation to each field of study and academic rank (rather than industry). As a result, the data for faculty did not include minimum and maximum median salaries like the staff data.

Yes. The U of A has a training committee that is working on defining phrases and terms associated with the project and will implement them as part of future training and tailored education sessions for different subsets of employees (supervisors, budget officers, etc.).

The university is aligning faculty pay based on the compensation project and a comprehensive market analysis. Affected faculty are expected to receive 50% of market compensation adjustments in Oct. 15 payslips, calculated back to the beginning of their appointment period, either July 1 for 12-month faculty or Aug. 12 for 9-month faculty. These faculty are expected to  receive the second 50% increase in July 2025 for 12-month faculty or Aug. 2025 for 9-month faculty.  

Please note that the market adjustment for faculty includes the 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase added to their base pay effective earlier this year. 

The faculty compensation project used the market rate (the average of faculty salaries at the rank and discipline of the faculty member from 82 peer institutions) as a starting point to establish market adjustments to faculty salaries. Market adjustments for faculty, which include COLA, are being calculated based on the distance the faculty member is from the market rate. To see how the market adjustment is being implemented for faculty, view the chart below and the following example scenarios.

Please note that the market adjustment for faculty includes the 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase added to their base pay effective earlier this year. 

Eligible faculty received a market adjustment provided in the form of a 3% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to their base pay earlier this year. These adjustments were effective July 1 for 12-month employees, and Aug. 12 for 9-month employees. The increase was calculated on the faculty member's base salary as of June 30, 2024.

Before faculty market adjustments were calculated, faculty salaries were rounded up or down to the nearest dollar. As a result, the market adjustment noted in the letter you received may be slightly less as well. To account for this, your total market adjustment will be rounded up to the nearest dollar. Your salary will be corrected in Workday prior to the Oct. 15 payslip, which is when you will receive the first market adjustment payment.

In Workday, you can view your phase one market adjustment – including the total amount accumulated effective July 1, 2024 (or August 12 for 9-month faculty), until Oct. 1, 2024 - in the Oct. 15, 2024, payslip.  The adjustment representing the portion of a faculty member’s appointment period before October 1 will be noted under the “Earnings” table and shown as Holiday PTO, Annual Leave PTO, Sick PTO or Regular Salary with dates prior to Oct. 1, 2024. See the below example for more guidance on where you can find this information. You can also view all previous changes to your pay under "Compensation" and "Pay Change History" on your profile in Workday. Learn more about how to read your payslip and retroactive pay from financial affairs.