The first phase of the university's compensation project implementation for staff, faculty and graduate assistants went into effect on Oct. 1. Many faculty and staff members are scheduled to receive an additional market adjustment increase to base pay as a part of their Oct. 15 payslip, beyond the market adjustment previously provided in the form of a 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment effective July 1, 2024. Many graduate assistants affected by the new minimum base pay rates are also scheduled to receive adjustments. Units shared compensation information with individual employees and graduate assistants throughout September.

For staff, 12-month faculty and graduate assistants scheduled to receive an additional market adjustment, the Oct. 15 payslip will include a larger additional amount than in subsequent pay periods — representing adjusted compensation from July 1 to Sept. 30. For 9-month faculty and graduate assistants scheduled to receive an additional market adjustment, the Oct. 15 payslip will include a larger additional amount than in subsequent pay periods - representing adjusted compensation from Aug. 12 to Sept. 30.

The Oct. 15 payslip amount will factor in all appropriate state and federal taxes, as well as any benefit premiums or other related payments based on salary (medical insurance, optional employee life, optional disability, etc.) calculated back from the effective date to Oct. 1. For faculty and staff, insurance premium amounts are based on the July 1, 2024 salary threshold.

Compensation Resources

Employees and graduate assistants receiving an additional market adjustment can now view their updated pay information in Workday by navigating to the Compensation tab. Workday also provides a Benefits and Pay Hub to review and maintain payroll and compensation information. Self-paced training is available in Workday by searching for "Learning: Benefits and Pay Hub."

The Model My Pay feature in Workday allows users to view an estimate of their net pay after applying hypothetical changes to taxes and deductions. Once logged into Workday, watch the Model My Pay training video to learn how to use the feature. For questions about Model My Pay, call 479-718-1354 or email payroll@uark.edu.

Frequently asked questions about compensation and the application of market adjustments are available at the bottom of the Staff Classification and Compensation page.

New Staff Job Classification Architecture

The primary objective of the Staff Classification and Compensation Project was to implement a new, transparent framework for positions and pay. A Job Classification Architecture is designed to allow staff to more easily view available jobs, skills required for those jobs, and compensation levels. The long-term desire of the university is to enhance the architecture to provide access to tools and resources that may assist staff when working toward fulfilling their career journey.

The first iteration of the architecture includes several new fields that are now available in Workday, including:

• The position's pay grade within the university's new staff pay structure (under the compensation tab)
• The job profile the position is assigned to (under "job details" in the summary tab)
• The job family and job subfamily the position falls within (under "job details" in the summary tab)

Overview training videos are intended to help employees learn more about the architecture. Screenshots of the new fields in Workday are also available.

What's Next

• The second phase of additional market adjustments is planned to be effective July 1, 2025.
• Compensation guidelines are being developed that will help facilitate consistent staff pay administration and processes across campus.
• Human Resources plans to conduct periodic market reviews to help the university's staff job and compensation architecture remain competitive.