Most employees across the Washington State University system will see increases to their compensation in the coming months.
For classified and civil services employees, their 3% salary increase took effect July 1 and will be reflected in their July 25 paychecks.
Most administrative professionals will receive a 1.4% increase in compensation effective Oct. 1. Those excluded from the increase will be AP employees hired on or after Jan. 1 of this year as well as those earning $250,000 or more in base salary.
And for the first time in a decade, faculty will have the opportunity to earn merit-based pay increases this coming fiscal year. As outlined in a June 23 memo to Faculty Senate, there will be two separate processes for providing merit-based salary increases.
For the first time in a decade, WSU faculty will have the opportunity to earn merit-based pay increases.
The first process, outlined in the Faculty Manual, will weigh three factors: professional development, superior merit, and equity. A faculty member’s four most recent annual review report, or the reports available if a faculty member was recently appointed, will be used for this assessment.
Faculty members at .5 FTE or more will be eligible to receive raises via this process, with the following exemptible conditions:
- Hired after Dec. 31, 2024
- Earning a base salary in excess of $250,000
- On retire-rehire appointments
- Administrative faculty appointments above the level of chair or director
The second process will provide merit-based adjustments using the recently-established President’s Excellence Fund. The university is planning to set aside at least $500,000 per year to provide salary increases to those faculty who’ve, “demonstrated exemplary work and made significant contributions to WSU, their academic unit, and their professional field,” per the recent memo to Faculty Senate.
All full-time career and tenure-track faculty will be eligible for consideration, with some exemptions. Faculty hired on or after Dec. 31, 2025, as well as administrative faculty above the level of chair or director are not eligible for merit-based salary adjustments via the President’s Excellence Fund.
Deans, chairs, directors and vice chancellors for academic affairs will recommend eligible faculty for consideration, with the Office of the Provost awarding recipients after a final review.
“I’m excited about this change, it’s going to be a very big one at the university,” Provost and Executive Vice President Chris Riley-Tillman told regents in June. “I think it’s going to have a real impact on faculty morale and retention and making sure the right people are getting the raises they deserve.”
Human Resource Services has a website with information on salary increases, which will be updated with more details for administrative professionals and faculty in the coming weeks. The Office of the Provost is currently developing a comprehensive set of frequently asked questions and answers, along with a process timeline, which it expects to distribute to college, unit, and department leaders by mid-August.
Graduate students covered under the university’s landmark Associated Student Employees contract will receive a 3% increase to their compensation effective Oct. 1.
