FY27 UWL Compensation Plan

Background

Over the past several years, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has developed a comprehensive compensation plan to improve wage equity and market competitiveness across campus. Feedback gathered through shared governance and from the broader campus community identified several compensation concerns; however, there was consistent support for prioritizing pay adjustments for the university's lowest paid employees based on hourly wages and market parity.

This feedback informed the development of Phase 1 of the compensation plan, which took effect on December 28, 2025. Phase 1 increased the campus minimum hourly wage from $16.00 to $18.00 and adjusted eligible employees' base salaries to at least 80% of the peer comparison median for their respective job titles. Phase 2 will take effect on December 27, 2026, and will further increase eligible employees' base salaries to at least 85% of the peer comparison median for their respective job titles

Employees Eligible for the UWL Compensation Plan

Faculty
Instructional Academic Staff
Non-Instructional Academic Staff
University Staff

Employees Not Covered by These Guidelines

Limited-term
Ad hoc employees
Research Interns
Interim, acting appointments, or employees with a temporary base adjustment
Student Hourly Staff and Graduate Assistants
Employees in training
Temporary Employees
Employees covered by collective bargaining

85% Parity

Eligible employees will have their base salaries adjusted to reach 85% of the peer comparator median. The peer comparator data set is primarily derived from CUPA-HR and Universities of Wisconsin sources. UWL will share compensation parity information in aggregate form to provide transparency regarding overall equity progress. However, the specific market data used in the compensation analysis is proprietary and will not be shared in detail.

Timeline

The Week of December 7th

Deans/Directors will receive information from the Budget Office identifying affected employees. Vice Chancellors will be copied. Deans/Directors are responsible for sharing this information with supervisors and employees as they see fit.

Second Half of December

UW Shared Services will upload pay adjustments into Workday. Once uploads are complete, employees will automatically receive notification through Workday.

December 27

Pay rate changes take effect.

January 21

Affected employees will see the adjustment reflected on their January B paycheck.