Compensation Policy
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Last Updated: Sep 16, 2026, 02:48 PM
Compensation Policy for Administrative/Professional and Civil Service Positions
- Purpose
SIU is committed to providing competitive compensation that supports recruitment of qualified employees and promotes pay equity across comparable positions. Initial salary offers take into account the candidate’s qualifications, relevant market factors, compensation of similarly employed individuals, the salary structure of supervised employees, and institutional equity considerations.
- Objectives
- Establish a compensation philosophy aligned with SIU’s values, mission, and strategic goals.
- Ensure SIU’s financial resources are utilized effectively and efficiently.
- Provide a rational and consistent basis for pay decisions, eliminating arbitrary salary assignments and fostering internal equity.
- Maintain pay ranges that are competitive within relevant labor markets.
- Promote consistency in job titles and job descriptions across the institution.
- Clarify relationships among positions to avoid overlaps or gaps in responsibilities.
- Define the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) required for job performance and support the development of clear and achievable career paths.
- Administration of the Compensation System
Human Resources (HR) is responsible for administering and maintaining the compensation system. Core responsibilities include assigning proposed new jobs to appropriate job families, functions, career streams and levels, and pay grades; reviewing and reassigning existing jobs to pay grades; maintaining job descriptions; reviewing and approving pay adjustments; and maintaining and updating pay structures.
- Assignment of New Jobs to Job Architecture and Pay Grade
HR will assess all proposed new positions and assign them to the appropriate components of the job architecture framework, including job family, function, career stream, career level, and pay grade.
- Establishing Initial Pay for New Hires
It is the goal of SIU to offer wages that attract the best possible employees. It is also the goal of SIU to ensure pay fairness among employees within similar job titles. Therefore, a new employee’s initial pay should be set in consideration of the candidate’s qualifications, pay of similarly employed individuals, supervised employees’ pay scales, market factors, and internal equity.
Typically, initial pay should be set between the minimum and midpoint of the pay grade. Exceptions to this policy may be made in cases with unusual circumstances, where market conditions prohibit hiring within the authorized hiring grade and/or the current pay or pay scales of employees does not stimulate significant interest in upward career movement. All exceptions must be approved in writing through administrative channels and by Vice Chancellor for Human Resources or designee.
- Determining Pay for Promotions, Demotions, and Lateral Transfers
A promotion occurs when an employee moves to a job with a higher pay grade. A transfer occurs when an employee moves within the same pay grade. A demotion occurs when an employee moves to a lower pay grade.
Promotions:
HR will conduct analysis to determine the pay range per predictive pay analysis. The employee’s base salary shall be increase by 5-15% or to the minimum of the new pay grade, whichever is greater, based upon HR’s predictive pay and internal equity analysis. HR will provide a salary range for the unit to consider.
Demotions:
HR will conduct analysis to recommend an appropriate pay range per predictive pay analysis. For voluntary demotions, the employee’s base salary shall be reduced by 5–15% or to the grade grade maximum, whichever is the greater salary reduction. If the employee's adjusted salary is greater than the new salary grade maximum, their pay will be reduced to the new salary grade maximum.
Lateral Transfers:
When an employee transfers laterally from one job to another within the same grade, the move will not result in a pay change. However, lateral transfers can offer valuable opportunities for career growth, skill development, and job enrichment that contribute to long-term advancement.
- Pay Above Grade Maximum
Employees paid at or above the pay grade maximum will be ineligible for across the board or other increases to their base salary but, at the university’s sole discretion, may receive lump‑sum payments in lieu of base wage adjustments that would be otherwise granted during annual increases.
- Salary Structure Adjustments
Southern Illinois University (SIU) maintains structured salary ranges to support fair, consistent, and competitive compensation practices. Salary structures will be reviewed and adjusted periodically to ensure continued competitiveness with relevant labor markets.
Human Resources (HR) will periodically review salary structures considering economic conditions utilizing data such as relevant salary surveys, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index (ECI), and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
HR will develop and present salary structure adjustment recommendations to the Chancellor. Salary structures will be adjusted following approval through appropriate administrative channels. Employees whose salaries fall below the minimum of the updated pay range will receive an adjustment at least equal to the difference between actual pay and the new minimum.
- Annual Salary Increase Review
SIU will annually evaluate the appropriateness and affordability of salary increases to maintain competitive and equitable compensation. Market alignment and internal equity will be considered when determining the distribution of the annual raise pool. Employees covered under collective bargaining agreements will receive increases in accordance with those agreements.
- Temporary Assignments
Employees temporarily assigned to a higher-level position or significantly expanded responsibilities may be eligible for a temporary increase in pay. This policy ensures fair compensation during periods of increased responsibility or service in a higher-level role.
Additional pay is given in recognition of the added responsibilities, expectations, and impact of a formal temporary assignment. These assignments involve accountability beyond the employee's existing classification and include the full scope of a higher-level position. This policy applies when an employee is formally designated to assume full responsibilities on a temporary basis.
Administrative/Professional Interim and Acting Assignments:
Pay adjustments may be warranted for formal, temporary assignments, designated by leadership, in which an employee assumes the full duties and essential functions of a higher‑level position during a vacancy or an approved leave of absence. The employee is expected to perform the complete scope of the higher‑level role, typically for an extended period while a permanent replacement is being recruited or until the incumbent returns. Typically, such adjustments are handled through the search waiver process. Units must consult with HR before extending any offers for pay increases for Interim and Acting assignments.
Civil Service Temporary Upgrade Assignments:
Temporary upgrades for civil service employees will be administered in accordance with State Universities Civil Service System statute and rule 250.100(b). Temporary upgrade assignments are established when an employee performs the essential functions of a higher-level position during a vacancy or approved leave of absence with the expectation of fulfilling the full scope of that position. A temporary upgrade must not be for more than 30 consecutive workdays. Temporary upgrade assignments do not affect seniority rights and benefits.
In order for a status employee to be eligible for a temporary upgrade, the employee must meet the qualifications for the higher classification, must pass the examination, and must be assigned the major duties of the higher classification. The temporarily-upgraded employee will receive the higher rate of pay, and seniority will continue to accrue in the classification where the employee has a status appointment.
Employee pay for interim and acting assignments and for temporary upgrades shall be adjusted by 5-15% or to the minimum of the new salary grade, whichever is greater, based on the nature of the assignment and HR’s predicted pay analysis. The pay adjustment will remain in place only for the duration of the assignment.
- Positions Excluded from the A/P and Civil Service Pay Grades
Due to the unique nature of certain roles, some positions cannot be appropriately assigned to the standard Administrative/Professional (A/P) or Civil Service pay grades. These positions remain subject to applicable institutional governance, compensation principles, approval requirements, and documentation standards, including a current position description and appropriate administrative review.
Compensation for these positions will be determined and administered through established institutional processes and procedures. These processes will support equitable and consistent compensation decisions while recognizing that the methods used to determine initial salaries and salary adjustments associated with promotions, demotions, transfers, or other employment actions may differ from those applicable to positions assigned to standard pay grades.
Positions excluded from the standard A/P and Civil Service pay grades include:
- Researcher and scientist classifications;
- Sworn police officer classifications;
- Head coaches and assistant coaches in intercollegiate athletics; and
- Academic administrators whose administrative appointments are typically accompanied by faculty appointments, including school directors and associate deans.