This page contains information regarding the salary increases for Faculty and Administrative Professional employees, effective October 1, 2026.
For represented faculty and staff, please refer to your current collective bargaining agreement, or, if negotiations are still in progress, to guidance and updates from your union representatives.
Updated July 22, 2026
Table of Contents
Employee Eligibility
This section explains which Faculty and Administrative Professional (AP) employees are eligible to receive the salary increase on October 1, 2026.
All faculty increases will be based on the employee snapshot taken on September 4, 2026, and the AP Employee snapshot October 3, 2026.
The following are eligible for the increase.
Faculty Increase
- The allocation available is 1.00% across the board.
- Faculty on an appointment equal to or greater than 0.5 FTE and employed on or before December 31, 2025, are eligible.
- Faculty with an annual review of satisfactory or higher. Faculty members with an annual review below satisfactory are ineligible. The following parameters will be utilized:
- For recently appointed faculty members who do not yet have two annual review reports, the rating will be based on the single available annual review report.
- For all other faculty members, the rating will be based on the last two annual review reports. The faculty member must have received a satisfactory or higher in both CY24 and CY25 to be eligible.
- Positions that have a faculty title code (e.g., Associate In), but do not participate in the annual review process, and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria, will receive the 1% across the-board salary increase.
- Exceptions
- No increase for faculty who are less than 0.5 FTE or hourly.
- No increase for retire-rehires since their appointments are not eligible for salary increases.
Administrative Professional (AP) Employees
- 1.00% across the board increase
- Exceptions
- No increase for retire-rehires who are in AP positions and who are less than 0.5 FTE.
- No increases for Administrative Professional employees hired after December 31, 2025.
- Athletics Coaches on contracts are ineligible for increases at this time.
Timing Eligibility Questions and Answers
Yes, so long as the employee was hired prior to December 31, 2025, they are eligible for the salary increase process unless there has been specific documentation to the contrary. See other exceptions above.
Yes, so long as the employee was hired prior to December 31, 2025, they are eligible for the salary increase process unless there has been specific documentation to the contrary. See other exceptions above.
They are eligible. The department retains the funds associated with the increase.
No. Increases are applied to the base salary (100% FTE) and pro-rated based on actual FTE.
No. To be eligible for the increase, employees must have been employed in a faculty position
and/or a non-hourly, non-temp position at 0.5 FTE or greater on or before December 31, 2025.
Yes
For all other eligibility questions, contact your HR Consultant.
Faculty Eligibility by Position Questions & Answers
Yes, if they meet all other eligibility requirements.
If you have an employee with two position numbers, please contact the Office of the Provost
at julie.crea@wsu.edu.
Yes. The language in their contract states they will receive the same increase as faculty.
Affected job profiles:
- 257-NY_FACULTY – Postdoctoral Teaching Associate
- 306-YY_FACULTY – Postdoctoral Research Associate
- 306-NY_FACULTY – Postdoctoral Research Associate
Yes. They do not participate in the annual review process but will receive an automatic 1.00% increase if eligible according to the other criteria in the FAQ.
Affected job profiles:
- 321-YN_FACULTY – Associate in
- 321-NN_FACULTY – Associate in
Yes. They do not participate in the annual review process but will receive an automatic 1.00% increase if eligible according to the other criteria in the FAQ.
Affected job profiles:
- 305-YN_FACULTY – Research Associate
- 305-NN_FACULTY – Research Associate
Stipends and differentials stated in percentage terms will automatically increase as the base increases (the unit/area will be responsible for the increase). Stipends and differentials allocated as flat dollar amounts will remain unchanged.
There may be a few exceptions related to funding for salary increases related to administrative stipends, such as if the stipend is within the faculty contract. Please submit a ticket to the Budget Office and attach the faculty contract. The Budget Office will review and respond.
No.
Faculty Eligibility by FTE Questions & Answers
Yes, if their total FTE exceeds 0.5. Eligibility is based on total FTE, not departmental split.
Yes, eligibility is based upon total FTE.
Eligibility is determined using the position FTE as of the faculty snapshot date, without
regard to work period.
Funding Questions & Answers
The central allocation to units covering core fund salary increases will be based on the approved FY27 Adaptive Planning Position Budget sheet and will be distributed at the Cost Center Hierarchy level.
For AP employees, centrally provided core fund compensation will be allocated to units in
the initial Workday budget load on July 31, 2026. Amounts will be prorated based on the
October 1, 2026, start date.
For faculty, the centrally provided core fund compensation funded will be allocated via
budget amendments in Workday. Budget amendments will be initiated between October 19
and November 30, 2026, and will be prorated for an October 1, 2026, start date.
Core funds include FD001-General Fund, FD076-Indirect Cost Recovery, and FD080
Administrative Fees and Interest. Areas are responsible for covering the cost of increases for
eligible employees paid on all other funds.
The data is from Workday for employee information and Adaptive Planning for the budget. If
there is a discrepancy with the data, submit a ticket to the Budget Office and contact the Office of the Provost at julie.crea@wsu.edu.
Yes, these employees will be subject to the same eligibility criteria, and the salary increases
are mandatory. It is the responsibility of the unit or college to determine the appropriate
funding source.
Central funding follows the approved FY27 position budget, not the employee’s temporary
assignment. If the position is budgeted on core funds in Adaptive Planning, the unit will
receive central funding for the salary increase. If the position is budgeted on non-core funds,
including grants and contracts, the unit will not receive central funding and will be
responsible for funding the increase.
Areas are responsible for covering the cost of increases for eligible employees paid on non-core funds.
The funds will be distributed based upon the approved Adaptive position budget for FY27
and eligibility by the snapshot date.
Yes. When an area allocates an increase from its pool to a temporary faculty member in a
permanent position, the allocation for the position is increased.
Faculty Merit-based Salary Increase Timing
- August 3, 2026: FAO meeting, Q & A opportunity.
- August 28, 2026: All faculty appointment actions must be initiated and fully approved by this date. This includes new appointments and renewals. This is a required expectation for all colleges and departments and is critical to ensure all eligible faculty are included in the faculty merit process.
- Faculty who are not entered into the system by this deadline will NOT be included in the merit process. If an exception is warranted due to extenuating circumstances, a separate JIRA ticket must be submitted for each individual through the Workday Support Desk. Please note that, due to timing constraints, inclusion in the merit process cannot be guaranteed and any approved exceptions may need to be processed through an alternate method.
- September 4, 2026: For Faculty only, the 1% increase will route through a merit business process in Workday. The data for the salary increase process, filtered by FTE and hire date eligibility, will be provided to colleges and units along with the related information through this Workday Merit business process. Note: There will be no changes to the AP process from previous years.
- Colleges will first review the faculty listed within the system and ensure all eligible faculty are included as expected.
- Colleges must then coordinate with the respective campus leadership and departments/schools based on the annual review criteria, as this system process will route only through the respective colleges and the Office of the Provost in Workday.
- Two Zoom sessions will be offered to assist AFOs with the new Workday process and to address questions related to the FAQs and employee eligibility:
- September 8, 2026, 2 pm – 3 pm
- September 11, 2026, 2 pm – 3 pm
- September 4 – September 22, 2026: AFOs will determine their college-specific process for reviewing eligibility based on the faculty review criteria and will confirm the initial eligibility list populated in Workday and related information. Deans and VCAAs will confer regarding the analysis for faculty located on campuses different from the department or school home.
- By September 22, 2026: Colleges will submit the increase requests through the new Workday process, which will then route to the Office of the Provost.
- By September 29, 2026: The Office of the Provost will review and approve all increase requests and/or will respond to colleges with any questions before this date.
- September 30 – October 6, 2026: HRS will finalize.
- October 7, 2026 – October 14, 2026: Salary adjustments are applied in Workday with an October 1, 2026, effective date.
- October 15 – October 19, 2026: Colleges and units will verify the salary increases in Workday.
- October 19-November 30, 2026: The Budget Office will distribute funds due to each unit for FY27, based on the prorated MSI start date of October 1, 2026.
- October 19-November 30, 2026: The Budget Office will increase areas’ baselines for the full, 12-month calculated amount.
Processing
Salary increases will be processed centrally.
Employee compensation will reflect the increase in Workday no later than October 14, 2026, and will be paid on the October 26, 2026, paycheck.
Processing Questions and Answers
The department should process the job change before the salary increase is processed.
If the job change is entered and approved by October 2, 2026, the employee will receive the salary increase to their base rate as part of the central processing.
If the job change is not processed by October 2, 2026, the department must submit after the Workday staffing blackout period and ensure the compensation reflects the appropriate increase.
Employees may view their Compensation and Pay Change History on their Workday profile
after October 14, 2026.
Please wait until the final increases have been uploaded to Workday and verified by your
college or unit. If you choose to notify a faculty member before that time, reference only
the percentage increase, not the final salary amount, as rounding may affect the final
figures.
No, the new Workday process does not. Any costing allocation adjustments will need to be
initiated separately.
What if I Have Other Questions?
- Eligibility and processing questions may be directed to your area’s HR Consultant.
- Budget and funding questions submit a ticket to the Budget Office.
- Faculty-specific scenarios may be directed to the Provost’s Office at julie.crea@wsu.edu.
Contact
There are two ways to get help:
- Workday specific questions should be submitted via the Workday Service Desk.
- For specific employee or process questions, contact your HR Consultant. Find them on the HRS Service Teams page (log in with your WSU credentials).
Quick Links
Return to the Departmental Personnel Admins Essentials section page, or open the panel below for more pages.
- Semester Start – HR Actions & Timelines
- Plan for the Common HR Events & Actions that Happen Throughout the Year
- Who Are Personnel Admins and What Do They Do?
- Faculty and Administrative Professional Employees Salary Increase Information
- Strategic Reductions and Pauses FAQs
- Workforce Impact Policies and Procedures
- Appointing Authority