Project Background
University Makes Significant Investment in Employees
The University of Arkansas is committed to supporting the success of its employees. By making a significant investment in compensation and resources, the university has better positioned itself to attract, develop and retain faculty and staff while enhancing its status as an Employer of Choice.
Employees received a market adjustment provided in the form of a 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase added to their base pay on July 1, 2024. The university also invested in tools and access to increased market data that helped provide greater consistency and sustainability for pay structures and practices. Many in-scope faculty and staff members received an additional market adjustment to their base pay in October 2024.
In addition, many Graduate Assistants (GAs) received a market adjustment provided in the form of a 3% COLA to their base pay
on July 1, 2024, and an increase to their minimum base pay.
Implementation Quick Facts:
Project Overview and Objectives
The university announced the beginning of its Staff Classification and Compensation Project in 2022, introducing it as a foundational effort as part of its 150 Forward strategic planning process to enhance the U of A’s role as an employer of choice – with the purpose of establishing an environment that enables employees to thrive in their personal and professional lives. The project began with the university’s executive team partnering with Huron Consulting Group, a company who has been successful in supporting similar projects with other higher education institutions. The executive team agreed upon four initial governance groups to oversee the project. The governance groups worked closely together to identify subject matter experts (SMEs) representing all units across the institution. The governance groups, unit leaders, and SMEs were critical in helping define the work being performed across campus - which allowed us to develop more consistent job descriptions, enable greater alignment with market compensation data connected to similar jobs in the industry, and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to competitive pay.
The project aimed to develop, implement and administer a more consistent and transparent job and compensation architecture, along with associated pay practices. The goal of the architecture is to provide better visibility into the type of work being performed across campus by categorizing similar work together and showing the associated qualifications for all positions. The architecture is intended to be used as a tool to help staff develop a roadmap to consider and potentially work toward their career goals at the university. View this training video to learn more about the different components of the architecture and how it supports clearer career path opportunities.
Market Adjustment Implementation
Market adjustments related to the project have been implemented in two phases.
- In the first phase, in-scope staff received additional market adjustments (beyond the market adjustment provided in the form of a 3% COLA previously received effective July 1, 2024) to base pay starting with their Oct. 15, 2024 payslip, with the market adjustment amount calculated back to July 1, 2024.
- In the second phase, market adjustments will be effective July 1, 2025.
When implementing compensation changes, market adjustments are prioritized by job subfamilies (e.g. Accounting, Academic Advising) of staff that are furthest away from the market pay range, resulting in two priority groupings:
- Priority Group A : Those furthest away from the market pay range received 75% of the total market pay adjustment to base salary on their Oct. 15, 2024 payslip, and 25% of the total market pay adjustment effective July 1, 2025.
- Priority Group B : Those closer to the market pay range received 50% of the total market pay adjustment to base salary on their Oct. 15, 2024 payslip, and 50% of the total market pay adjustment effective July 1, 2025.
Time-in-Position (TIP) calculations were also factored in to help provide fair and consistent recognition of the experience in-scope staff members have gained in their current positions. Staff were credited for time in their current position – not their total time of employment at the university – starting in one-month increments all the way up to 30 years.