A collaborative process of consultation with key stakeholders, including the Board of Deans and Chancellors and faculty councils, plays a pivotal role in shaping the annual budget presentation to the Board of Regents. With board approval, the provost authorizes funding for merit-based salary increases to take effect on September 1. Eligibility for these increases stipulates clarity and fairness, which stem from annual performance evaluation and merit review processes that endeavor to foster a culture of continuous recognition and achievement.
Details on the most current authorization of merit-based salary increases can be found in authorization memoranda linked below.
Planning & Authorization Memoranda
Planning Email
On January 16, 2024 and consistent with established practice, the Executive Office of the President and Provost sent an initial FY 25 Merit Planning email to Deans, Chancellors, Vice Presidents, and Vice Provosts.
Authorization Memoranda
On April 16, 2024, the Executive Office of the President and Provost sent FY25 Merit & Faculty Unit Adjustment authorization letters
- FY25 Authorization Memorandum – Seattle Campus
- FY25 Authorization Memorandum – Bothell Campus
- FY25 Authorization Memorandum – Tacoma Campus
Merit & Faculty Unit Adjustment Process Guide
Personnel responsible for preparing and submitting salary increase recommendations should review all sections of the FY25 Process Guide in advance of merit preparation activities and throughout the submission process.
Glossary
Below are select terms and policies associated with merit and faculty unit adjustments. The descriptions are intended to provide broad context. Where appropriate, links to more detailed or authoritative definitions are provided in the Reference column. [EO = Executive Order; FC = Faculty Code]
Terms (jump to Policies)
| Term | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Additional merit | A type of salary increase, beyond the regular merit percentage, used to reflect higher levels of performance and/or to address issues of compression and equity. | EO 64.4 FC 24-70.B.4 |
| Base salary | For merit and unit adjustment calculations, base salary is the faculty member’s regular monthly compensation, regardless of funding source (e.g., state, local, grant funds) and including (where applicable) practice plan allowance, which represents clinical salary paid through University of Washington Physicians (UWP) or Children’s University Medical Group (CUMG). | |
| Merit (faculty) | A minimum equal-percentage salary increase awarded to all meritorious faculty who are not otherwise precluded from the increase; sometimes called regular merit or merit adjustment. Typically merit increases come from the sources currently funding the position. Approved increases for salaries not supported by GOF/DOF should come from the applicable grant, contract, or other alternate source funding the appointment. | EO 64.4 FC 24-55 FC 24-70.B.1 |
| Meritorious | A designation indicating that a systematic merit review found sufficient evidence to indicate a faculty member’s performance met or exceeded expectations. | FC 24-55 |
| Non-meritorious | A designation indicating that a systematic review found insufficient evidence to indicate a faculty member’s performance met or exceeded expectations. | FC 24-55 |
| Precluded | A designation that a meritorious faculty member has already received or been considered for a salary increase through some other recent action and will, therefore, not be reconsidered during a given merit or unit adjustment cycle. A decision to preclude is typically discretionary. For instance, UW’s retention policy allows—but does not require—the dean to preclude from merit a faculty member approved for a retention increase of 10% or more. Other common ‘precluding’ events include being newly hired, changing jobs, or receiving a salary increase at the time of reappointment. | |
| Salary increase pool | Merit and centrally funded unit adjustment increases are typically authorized as specific percent pools. This pool is calculated as a percentage of the aggregate base salaries of a given merit eligible population (i.e., faculty for faculty merit, staff for staff merit). For instance, a 2% pool for faculty is equivalent to 2% of the aggregated base salaries of merit eligible faculty in the unit. For unit adjustments, units may be permitted to distribute the pool differentially within a given range (e.g., 0.5%-10%), provided the average distribution across the eligible population remains within the approved salary increase pool. Note that the pool average is based on the total merit-eligible population and not on the subset recommended for an increase. | FC 24-55 |
| Unit adjustment (general description) |
A type of salary increase used to address current or projected misalignment between the unit’s faculty salary landscape and the academic labor market (“market gap”) and to reflect assessments of the quality, standing, and contributions of units to college, school, campus and University goals; considerations may also include salary compression, inversion, and/or inconsistencies between similarly-situated and accomplished faculty within a unit. In a given year, a unit adjustment plan may seek to address a challenge that exists for the entire unit or a particular track, rank, or individuals therein. | EO 64.6 FC 24-70.B.2 |
| Unit adjustment (additional allocation) |
When funding is provided from primarily central resources (i.e., General Operating Funds [GOF]/Designated Operating Funds [DOF]) for a unit adjustment for those positions supported by those sources, it has been referred to as a centrally funded unit adjustment or CUA for short. To more accurately reflect the range of sources of funding for this adjustment and to align with EO64, this unit adjustment will now be referred to as additional allocation. | EO 64 |
| Unit adjustment (locally funded) |
When the unit adjustment is funded from existing departmental or school/college/campus resources, it is called a locally funded unit adjustment or LUA. | |
| Non-compounding increases | As part of the alignment of merit and unit adjustments to all take effect on September 1, all increases will be calculated on the individual’s base salary as of August 31. Calculations will be non-compounding. For example, an individual with a base salary of $10,000 who is approved for a 2% merit increase, a 1% CUA (additional allocation), and a 1% LUA will have a September 1 base salary of $10,400 (reflecting a 4% total increase to the August 31 base salary). |
Policies (jump to Terms)
| Policy | Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Order 45 | A presidential order that describes what qualifications, considerations and documentation are taken into account when making a recommendation for a merit-based salary increase. | EO 45 |
| Faculty Code 24-55 | The section of the Faculty Code that describes the considerations and procedure to be followed when considering merit-based salary increases. | FC 24-55 |
| Faculty Code 24-57 | The section of the Faculty Code that describes the procedural safeguards each department, school, or college must adopt to support faculty in prioritizing their professional career development and to fulfill the University’s obligations of fair appraisal and continual monitoring of faculty development. | FC 24-57 |
| Faculty Code 24-70 | The section of the Faculty Code that describes the mechanisms by which a faculty member’s salary can be increased. | FC 24-70 |
| Faculty Code 24-71 | The section of the Faculty Code that describes when and how the provost—and by extension the deans—can recommend and distribute allocations to support salary increases. | FC 24-71 |
| Faculty Salary Policy/ Executive Order 64 |
A presidential order that describes the University of Washington’s policy for providing predictable and continuing salary progression for meritorious faculty, and that outlines the purpose, timing, prioritization, and consultative processes associated with specific salary increase mechanisms. | EO 64 |