Compensation study update: Next steps and upcoming timeline

Dear colleagues,

Last month, in alignment with the ongoing Next-Gen K-State Budget Transformation initiative, Provost Mendez and Vice President Erickson shared a high-level update on Phase I implementation of the university’s Compensation Study. As a reminder, Phase I implementation is focused primarily on standing up our faculty pay structure and updated staff architecture, as well as implementing under-market adjustments for faculty and staff based on how positions align to the market.

What it means for K-State to have a market-based structure

Learn how being market‑based means we use reliable and defined external data to understand how similar jobs are paid in the labor market.

Compensation terms and definitions

Learn more about common terms that you will hear throughout the Compensation Study.

You may recall from the spring 2026 Faculty Senate Open Forum that, based on an Oct. 2025 workforce snapshot, 38% of faculty and 27% of staff were projected to receive an under-market adjustment during Phase I implementation. This is an important reminder that many will already be aligned to their new market-based range and will not receive a pay adjustment during Phase I implementation.

Again, Phase I implementation is focused on how the position aligns to market, not on the individual’s compensable factors and/or performance.

Over the next several weeks, HR will rerun the market analysis based on our current workforce and share it with university vice presidents and deans to prepare for Phase I activation.

What employees can expect

As the results are finalized across university colleges and divisions, we have refined our timeline for what faculty and staff can expect after meetings with vice presidents and deans conclude at the end of October.

On Nov. 4, a K-State Today announcement will provide access to view the university's market-aligned faculty pay structure and the updated staff architecture.

• This will provide you visibility into the new structures in order for you to gain familiarity with how jobs will be organized and pay grades will be aligned prior to receiving your individual outcome notification.
  
  
  • The faculty pay structure has been developed based on existing faculty rank and title series and market-aligned based on discipline area, represented by the faculty member’s CIP code.
    
    
  • The updated staff structure will include new and refined job titles and profiles that better reflect the work being done at K-State today. It also introduces subfamilies and additional career levels to improve market alignment and support career growth opportunities.
    
    
• An opportunity to attend a Webinar walking through these structures will be forthcoming in early November as well.

On Nov. 18, faculty and staff will receive a letter from their college or major unit HR manager outlining the outcomes for their individual positions.

• Individual outcome memos will be provided to all faculty holding regular or term appointments and all staff positions that were included in Phase I of the Compensation Study.
  
  
• Even if there are no changes to current title or pay, employees will receive a notification memo.
  
  
• In this communication, the job title, pay range and FLSA classification associated with an individual’s position will be shared, and for those whose current pay is determined to be under-market, the planned pay adjustment to align the position to market will also be shared.
  
  
• Remember: No reductions in pay will result from market determinations.

In early December, these structures will officially go live in HR systems, with Dec. 31 as the projected date for the first paycheck to reflect under-market adjustments.

Please also know that between Nov. 4 and 13, all supervisors will be invited to participate in trainings to support faculty and staff questions during the roll-out of the university’s compensation structures and under-market adjustments. More information on those training opportunities will be forthcoming soon.

Progress from our implementation working groups

The Compensation Study project requires the collaboration and effort of so many across the institution. In addition to preparing the data, finalizing our structures, building the web-based view of our structures to aid in transparency and understanding, and planning communications efforts, a great deal of activity and progress has also taken place across our implementation working groups to drive toward the first phase of activation and beyond:

• The Technical Implementation working group has continued to build out all of the necessary components across our employment systems, most specifically HRIS and ADP, to ensure we are set up for launching our faculty pay structure and updated staff structures in December.
  
  
• The Pay Administration Guidelines Implementation working group was officially launched and is making fast progress, engaging in thoughtful discussion across a myriad of topics. Ultimately, this group is working to solidify a new set of pay administration guidelines that will serve as the anchor for sustaining market alignment by supporting consistent and equitable pay practices across the institution.
  
  
• HR has also participated in multiple conversations around graduate student compensation over the past month, including with our Graduate Student Council leaders, the academic deans and individuals from the Graduate School, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research, Division of Financial Services and more. These conversations have informed significant planning efforts to help advance our ability to stand up the new Graduate Student Compensation Implementation working group, which will formally convene this month.
  
  
• Ultimately, the group will solidify the official implementation timeline to raise the minimum stipend for GTAs/GRAs.

• • Additionally, the working group will build out sustainable, consistent pay practices for our GTAs and GRAs, continuing to drive progress forward for our graduate student population.

Laying the foundation

Building a market-aligned faculty pay structure and staff career architecture, aligning positions to market, creating consistent pay administration guidelines and building momentum for progress in graduate student compensation are each massive projects in and of themselves — but we are tackling them together to set a stronger foundation for the university as an employer of choice.

This work is not easy, and it truly takes a village to drive it forward. But the people of this institution have proven themselves capable of tackling the toughest challenges — and the most impactful. And this is no different.

Please watch for additional communications in early November as we continue to approach our implementation date. We are committed to ensuring you are as informed as possible throughout this implementation process.

Go ‘Cats!

Shanna Legleiter
Chief Human Resources officer