Staff Personnel Compensation

1. All classified staff positions must have a job description that accurately describes the essential functions, job-related qualifications (i.e., experience, education, and functional competencies), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption status, working conditions, and mental and physical requirements.
2. Positions are evaluated based upon the job content in the job description.
3. Critical inputs into a base pay decision include employee performance, relevant skills and job experience, and budget availability.
4. People and Culture Services, in conjunction with unit leadership, review non-union staff employee base pay during the following activities:
   1. Job evaluation process
   2. Annual compensation process
   3. Employee job changes such as promotions, demotions, and changes in scope of responsibility
5. All pay decisions must conform to the university's policy of equal employment opportunity, and federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

The annual compensation process is our formal process for reviewing classified staff employee base pay levels. This process provides UHRS and managers the opportunity to review base pay levels and make appropriate adjustments to ensure base pay levels are differentiated to reflect performance and internally equitable.

Performance evaluations are recommended for all employees either before or in conjunction with the annual compensation cycle. Managers should document and then consider employee performance when making base pay decisions.

• Performance Evaluation Form For Nonexempt Staff Personnel Sample (PDF)
• Performance Evaluation Form For Exempt Staff Personnel Sample (PDF)

A percent of the budget is set aside for each annual performance rating to recognize and differentiate employee performance. All active, classified staff employees are eligible for the annual compensation process.

The placement of positions into specific pay grades is determined using a job evaluation method known as a point factor system.  Point factor systems are widely used, especially in large organizations where there are a variety of roles and duties.  The University has eight compensable factors that are used to determine the relative ranking of staff positions within our pay plan.  Listed below are the pay scales effective February 4, 2026.  Wages are annualized by multiplying the rate times 2080 for full-time, 12-month positions.
Ball State Staff pay Scales PDF

New Hires

Starting salaries for new employees are set between the minimum and the 25th percentile of the range.  A newly hired employee’s salary shall normally be set at the minimum of the range.  In cases where circumstances necessitate, a starting rate may be greater than the minimum using the following criteria:  qualifications of the candidate, number of qualified applicants identified, cost and length of time associated with the recruiting campaign, and/or the pay relationship to other employees in the University in comparable positions who possess similar qualifications.

Promotion/Upgrade

When a promotion or upgrade occurs, the new salary rate will be determined through one of two methods, whichever results in the greater increase: 

The hiring rate of the salary range into which the promotion/upgrade occurs or

The employee’s current salary plus 9% of the minimum of the salary range into which the  promotion/upgrade occurs. 

If the promotion is more than one grade, the employee’s salary plus 9% of the minimum of the salary range into which the promotion occurs and 5% of the minimum of each of the lower salary ranges skipped will be added, also.

Additional Duties

If a department assigns additional duties to a position that are significant in nature, but do not result in an upgrade, the department may request a salary adjustment not to exceed an amount equivalent to five percent (5%) of the minimum of the current range.

Related Links

1. Assure a fair distribution of salaries, wages, and fringe benefits by adopting and maintaining a formalized job evaluation system which establishes internal equity between jobs and by administering an effective employee appraisal system to evaluate work performance.
2. Provide a well-qualified staff to perform the work of the university by establishing a compensation program that is competitive in the marketplace.
3. Administer a system of cost control for human resources' expenditures to ensure the prudent expenditure of state funds and student payments.

Job Audits for Classified Staff Positions

Request an Audit

An employee who has been working in his/her respective classified staff position for at least one year and who believes the position’s responsibilities have significantly changed from when he/she started in the position may request a job audit. If a department undergoes a reorganization, the department can request an audit six months after new duties have been assigned or significantly changed.  An employee who has been working in his/her respective position for more than five years since it was last audited and has had changes to his/her job description verified by the supervisor and People and Culture Services may also request an audit of that position.

1. The request for an audit of a Classified Staff Personnel position may be made by completing a Request for Review of Position Classification (HR-17) which is available in the HR forms section of the website. The form must be completed with the signatures of all required levels of supervision and then sent to UHRS.
2. When the form is received in UHRS, a Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) will be emailed to the first level supervisor of the employee whose position is being audited. The supervisor will give the PAQ to the employee and go over with the employee the audit instructions received from UHRS.
3. Then the supervisor or the employee, if approved for the Hiring Manager role in HR-TMS, will make the necessary revisions to the duties and responsibilities on the position description in that system.
4. When the employee has completed his/her portion of the PAQ, additional comments and signatures must be obtained from the supervisor along with each subsequent level of supervision through the Vice President for the area. The completed PAQ is uploaded to the revised position request in HR-TMS and moved through the workflow to UHRS.
5. Upon UHRS’s receipt of the completed PAQ and the revised position request in HR-TMS, the HR Representative for the area will contact the employee and his or her first level supervisor to schedule a time to conduct an on-site job audit interview with both those individuals.
6. After the interview is completed, it will usually take approximately four weeks before the result of the audit is communicated back to the supervisor.

An audit may result in any of the following outcomes: No change in salary grade, title or exemption status; a title change; a change in exemption status; an upgrade; a downgrade.

Outline of Audit Appeal Process for Classified Staff Positions