Pay Philosophy

To help in the administration of compensation plans, most organizations use a formal structure to determine employee pay. Virginia Tech is no exception and we use a combination of pay bands for university and classified staff and pay ranges for faculty.

Virginia Tech seeks to be competitive by using a matching pay strategy. This means that we aspire to match the market pay at the aggregate level so that groups of like employees, as a combined average, match the median pay within a market salary range. 

Pay decisions are based on the scope and responsibilities of the position, employee’s relevant work experience, certifications for positions that require them, equity, and the organization’s budget. The market value of a position is derived from employer reported salary surveys. Virginia Tech uses salary surveys with external market data specific to higher education and general industry. Individuals are paid all across the range based on the factors listed above, among others.

The university is committed to offering transparent administration of compensation plans to:

• Ensure fair and equitable pay across the university.
• Attract, retain, and motivate the best talent.
• Support Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundary vision and strategic plan. 

Position Structures

An important factor in how pay is determined is ensuring the university’s positions are reviewed as part of a formalized structure. For example, how does tenure impact pay? How does pay change if an individual contributor moves to a leadership role? What are the differences in staff roles? Virginia Tech’s position structures include:

• Teaching and Research (T&R) faculty, which is governed by the Faculty Handbook.
• Administrative and Professional (A/P) faculty, which is governed by the A/P faculty job architecture.
• University and classified staff, which is governed by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Non-student wage positions are also governed by the commonwealth.

Formal position structures ensure that compensation decisions are:

• Consistent across positions and locations.
• Equitable.
• Competitive with our market.
• Aligned to our policies and values.
• Easily understood by our employees.

Using Market Data

Virginia Tech participates in and receives salary data from multiple sources that includes data from higher education; the private and public sectors; and local, regional, and national surveys.

Virginia Tech positions are matched to benchmark positions in the surveys with input from the position’s leader and HR representative. The market data is then compiled and used in the administration of Virginia Tech’s market pricing strategy.

What is Market Pricing?

Market pricing is the process by which an organization gathers and analyzes external salary data to help determine the relative value of jobs in the external market.

In addition to the state classification system for certain positions, Virginia Tech uses a market pricing strategy to help determine the relative value of jobs. This helps ensure employees receive competitive salaries based on a comparison of pay levels for comparable positions in the relevant market. 

Application of university pay philosophy

Virginia Tech’s Division of Human Resources is empowered to represent the university’s interests as a whole. When partnering with senior management areas, the Compensation Team applies the philosophy outlined above to help colleges and departments strategically apply available compensation resources, ensure guidance and support are available, and to advocate for consistent and fair pay practices for university employees.

Beyond pay

Pay is an important factor for any role; however, benefits play an important part in looking at the total compensation of a role with any employer. At Virginia Tech, our competitive benefits, leave, and retirement plans offer considerable value. In addition, as an employee, other programs and benefits are available at no cost such as access to:

• Free mental health resources through TimelyCare.
• The employee assistance program (for employees also enrolled in the health insurance plans)
• A wide variety of programs and resources through Hokie Wellness.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Tuition assistance programs that can be used at Virginia Tech or other universities.

And much more. Visit our total compensation page for more information.