Fiscal Year 2024-25 Salary Increases

Fair, equitable, and competitive compensation is an important part of WPI’s long-term strategy for attracting and retaining excellent staff and faculty, and the annual review process is a meaningful reminder of the talent and dedication of our colleagues. As you know, we recently undertook a comprehensive staff compensation and classification project that resulted in equity adjustments for many employees. This, along with our annual performance reviews and salary and merit increases, allows WPI to remain competitive in its compensation. More importantly, these efforts help highlight the university’s appreciation for the dedicated employees who make WPI an outstanding institution for learning, living, and working.

The total salary increase pool for FY 2024-25 is 3%. In July approximately 0.5% of the FY 2024-25 salary pool was allocated for faculty promotions and equity adjustments for staff (as part of Phase 2 of our Compensation and Classification Project); the remaining 2.5% pool is available to support further salary increases. 

Below are the details regarding this 2.5% salary increase pool for FY 2024-25. All salary increases will be effective October 1, 2024:

• Base salary increases of 1.5% will be provided to all eligible employees who meet performance expectations and have “Successful” or above rating.
• An additional 1% merit pool, beyond the 1.5% increase, will also be allocated and distributed by your department’s merit administrator to recognize outstanding employee performance.

Employees who are eligible for an annual salary increase and/or merit increase include:

• Benefits-eligible faculty and staff who were employed at WPI before April 1, 2024;
• Staff who have not received promotional increases over the last six months.

Considerations and Processes for Merit Increases:

• Staff performance evaluations and faculty annual evaluations, as well as other overall contributions of individual team members throughout this past year, will be considered when making decisions regarding merit increases.
• Each Division Head has identified the managers who will recommend merit increases for faculty and staff in their respective areas. These merit administrators will:
• Have a total amount equal to 1% of the current salaries of team members who are eligible for an increase effective October 1, 2024.
• Give consideration for the overall contributions of each employee and allocate the 1% merit pool to recognize outstanding performance.
• Employees will receive notification of their approved salary increase as soon as allocations of salary/merit increases have been decided and processed, in most cases by mid-October.

Staff Promotions

In the coming weeks, the Division of Talent & Inclusion will work with academic and administrative leaders (Deans, Division Heads, and Department Heads) to identify staff to be considered for promotions. Staff promotions and promotional increases will be effective January 1, 2025, and those employees will receive personalized notification by December 16, 2024. (Faculty promotions took place in July, in accordance with Faculty Handbook protocols.)

Of Note

WPI is fortunate to be able to acknowledge and reward exceptional employees and to ensure that we provide competitive salaries. The ability to do so is, in large part, thanks to the smart fiscal management and good business practices that have become a part of this university’s culture. Your efforts are both noted and appreciated.

As a reminder, Talent & Inclusion will conduct regular reviews of our performance review and compensation practices to ensure they continue to reflect market conditions, advance internal equity, and reward performance. We will also, in consultation with managers, work proactively to determine if individual employee salaries warrant adjustment.

As always, please contact your manager, Division Head, or Talent Strategy Partner if you have any questions or suggestions.