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Committee advances FY26 compensation plan to board with 2.6% salary pool and targeted market adjustments
Summary
University HR and finance staff presented a proposed FY26 compensation plan that includes a 2.6% general salary pool, targeted market adjustments for specific non‑faculty positions and faculty competitiveness adjustments; the committee voted to send the plan to the full board for approval.
Cookeville, Tenn. — The Audit and Business Committee voted to forward Tennessee Tech’s proposed FY26 compensation plan to the full board. The plan, as presented by Kevin Vetter in human resources, includes a 2.6% salary pool for eligible employees, targeted adjustments to address remaining market‑compression issues and a continuation of a phased market study for classified and staff positions.
Key elements of the proposal:
- Salary pool: A 2.6% general salary pool for FY26, consistent with the governor’s recommendation included in the proposed state budget. - Market adjustments: Phase 3 of the market compensation plan targets about 88 non‑faculty positions for step adjustments toward market medians; identified faculty members who are below market also would receive targeted adjustments. - Timing: Non‑faculty (staff) adjustments would be effective in the July payroll; faculty targeted adjustments would be reflected in the August payroll cycle (which aligns with faculty promotion timing). Merit adjustments would apply after targeted market/faculty steps are processed. - Promotions: Faculty promotions are funded outside the general salary pool and will be administered separately.
The committee approved forwarding the compensation plan to the board for formal approval. Trustees raised communication concerns about the published eligibility and distribution ranges (the policy provides a 1%–10% merit range) and asked for clarity to set expectations among employees; HR and administration said they will provide additional campus communications explaining how the pool and targeted adjustments will be distributed.
Why it matters: Salary competitiveness and targeted market corrections affect faculty and staff morale, recruitment and retention. Trustees and administrators discussed the importance of transparent communication when a pool is relatively small and distributed across a large workforce.
Next steps
The proposed compensation plan will appear on the full board agenda for formal action.
