The UW System is committed to attracting, retaining, and rewarding a highly qualified and diverse workforce. By comparing the compensation of UW jobs with similar jobs in the labor market, the UW System can create a market-informed salary structure to help keep and grow our outstanding workforce. This market-informed salary structure will provide flexibility for our universities to compensate employees for their experience and performance.

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What is a salary structure?
  • A salary structure provides a framework for rewarding performance, making consistent and equitable pay decisions, and linking career paths and pay opportunities.
  • Each job is placed into a salary grade based on a combination of both the available market data and where a job falls within the organization of work at the University as compared to other jobs in our structure.
  • Our jobs range from entry-level to professional roles, and management roles through to executive leadership. Your salary falls within that range based on factors like the rate at which you were hired, experience, skills, quality of work, compensation management practices, and available funds.
What is a Market Study?

A market study is the process of comparing how an organization pays its employees against how other organizations pay their employees for similar jobs (market peers).Market peers image

Who Are UW System’s Market Peers?

Market peers are other employers the UW System competes with to hire for similar jobs. These employers are similar to the UW System and our universities in industry, size, and/or revenue.

What is Market Data?

Market data imageUW System purchases market data that matches to UW System jobs. Market data includes information such as:

  • Job title
  • Job description
  • Base salary
  • Bonuses
  • Total dollar value of compensation, including paid time off, insurance, and retirement

This market data is used to build the new UW System salary structure. Although the UW System cannot make the proprietary market data purchased from vendors* publicly available, the UW System will continue to review market data regularly in the future and adjust the UW System salary structure based on trends in the market and internal organizational structure.

*Vendors who specialize in collecting and verifying market data include Willis Towers Watson and College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).