10/14/2025
Dear Colleagues,
As promised, we’re delighted to share an update on the implementation of the Total Compensation and Benefits (TCB) initiatives, approved by the Board of Trustees in May. This next chapter brings us closer to our shared goal: a compensation program that is competitive, equitable, and transparent across Puget Sound.
FY26 Pay Updates
Following approval of the FY26 budget, the Office of the Provost and Human Resources finalized new salary structures for faculty and staff. Both structures hold the market median as our target position, which will guide future adjustments as we work toward full market alignment over the next three to five years.
Faculty Pay Adjustments
The FY26 3% faculty salary pool increase was distributed to support both ongoing growth and market alignment:
- 1.4% funded steps and promotions on the new faculty salary scale.
- 0.2% increased per-course pay for adjunct faculty and hourly pay for School of Music affiliate faculty.
- 1.4% adjusted the scale to bring associate professors, who were on average furthest from market, closer to target, while also strengthening assistant professor steps to stay competitive for new hires. Smaller increases supported Instructors and Full Professors.
Overscales for assistant and associate professors in the defined high-demand disciplines were transitioned from fixed-dollar amounts to a multiplicative factor, a change that helps keep pay aligned with the market as the market shifts and faculty progress through the salary scale.
The Provost’s Office also introduced new administrative guidelines for faculty pay practices, designed to ensure consistency and transparency, and will be sharing them soon with the Faculty Salary Committee and the broader faculty community.
Staff Pay Adjustments
All eligible staff received a 2% general increase, with additional targeted market adjustments for 11.5% of staff (49 staff members) to ensure all positions reached at least the entry point of their pay grade.
These updates moved us meaningfully toward our goal:
- Overall: from 56% to 64.2% of staff at or above the target position in the pay range assigned to their role
- Non-exempt: from 48% to 58.1% of staff at or above the target position
- Exempt: from 74% to 77.9% of staff at or above the target position
To keep building shared understanding, Human Resources is developing education and training sessions on the staff career framework for staff and supervisors. These sessions will launch in November and continue through spring, with individual job placement and FY27 compensation updates shared in June 2026.
Additional Work Underway
Work is now underway to:
- Finalize and communicate the updated staff administrative guidelines and pay practices.
- Review and refresh leave programs, including developing a designated parental leave program and revising staff sick and vacation leave structures.
- Partner with TIAA, our retirement plan recordkeeper, to explore potential enhancements to the university’s retirement program.
We look forward to sharing future updates with the campus community as this work continues.
Thank you for your continued partnership, insight, and engagement as we move this important work forward. These efforts mark meaningful progress toward our shared vision of a fair, sustainable, and market-aligned compensation program for all Puget Sound faculty and staff.
With appreciation,
Nancy Nieraeth, SPHR, SHRM-SCP | Chief People Officer
Amy Spivey, PhD | Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Physics