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The HR FACTS website is your primary source of information regarding West Virginia's public higher education compensation study. On this site, you will find information and updates regarding the study and, ultimately, key findings and next steps, making this the central hub for tools and resources that can be accessed by all stakeholders.

This website will also be used as a source for other human resources and benefit-related information, so be sure to check back for updates.

ABOUT THE STUDY

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) and the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia (CTCS) have launched a compensation study of all classified jobs (non-faculty and non-classified jobs). The State Legislature passed a bill that requires us to have a job classification system with pay ranges that are tied to the market. This provides us with an opportunity to refresh our current system, which is outdated in both data and methodology.

Possible changes to the compensation and classification program may arise based on the results of the study; however, the main purpose is to ensure consistency and uniformity across the systems.

By better aligning with what other organizations are paying for similar jobs, we will be able to competitively attract, retain and reward our people. As we continue to grow and look toward the future, we will be better positioned to help our institutions understand how to use the dollars they have now by removing the restrictions from the current structure.

Introduction

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (Commission) and the Council for Community and Technical College Education (Council) in August, 2017, approved the new market-based higher education compensation management program. The work began in July 2015 with a contract with Mercer, a globally recognized compensation management consultant.

Working with Mercer, the HEPC and CTCS analyzed the old system of classifying jobs using a point factor method and the years-of-service salary structure. The analysis resulted in a recommendation to abandon the existing, outdated methods in favor of a market-based compensation structure. Mercer worked with Human Resources staff from the campuses and the state central office in a team to complete a compensation market study.

After gathering feedback from classified staff representatives, the classification and compensation team developed a new higher education compensation philosophy AND designed a new market-based compensation structure for West Virginia public higher education employees. The team developed salary administration and job classification guidelines and assigned pay grades for the state’s nearly 4,700 classified employees.

The Commission and Council’s Division of Human Resources is providing to every state college and university two software programs that will help the schools create and maintain job descriptions and the market value of jobs in every employee category.

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