Student Pay Structure Review Guidelines

UWM will employ an annual review to maintain a consistent student hourly compensation structure and ensure equitable pay for student employees.

These guidelines outline the methods to review the student hourly compensation structure. This document establishes criteria for an annual review period for Student Hourly compensation, including timing, stakeholders, scope of the review, and decision makers to establish proposed compensation structures. The annual review is used to document and update the compensation structure, standard pay rates, and as necessary, update compensation procedures and best practices for the upcoming academic year.

Pay for Student Assistants (e.g., Graduate Assistants, Resident Assistants, Fellows) is out of scope of this Guideline.

Student Employee: Student hourly employees are enrolled students who perform part-time and sometimes temporary administrative, clerical, technical, or manual work on behalf of the university.

Reviews will be conducted annually but will vary in scope.

A comprehensive review of the compensation structure will be done biannually. To coincide with the academic year and the availability of market data, compensation reviews will be conducted in Spring. Recommended revisions to the compensation structure will be realized the following Academic Year, beginning in August.

In years when the comprehensive review is not completed, a review of the prior year’s requests for over the maximum compensation should be analyzed. It may be possible that some unique roles with separate requirements will be identified and noted, or that some roles need to be reassessed for where they fit into the compensation structure. This review should also commence around March of each year it is conducted.

1. Each year, the Human Resources Classification and Compensation Analyst will compile and review data of current Student Hourly employees. Data considered will include:
   • Market data as available based on benchmarks jobs (based on duties)
   • Rates for non-student employees performing similar work
   • Requests for pay over the max of the title
   • Other data metrics such as ordinances of minimum and living wage
   • Rates and trends established in prior year’s analysis
2. The Human Resources Classification and Compensation Analyst will solicit feedback to ensure collaboration from campus stakeholders. Stakeholders will be invited to review preliminary results and provide feedback or data impacting the proposal.

   At minimum, campus stakeholders shall include:

   • Department of Human Resources
   • Student Association
   • Division of Enrollment Management
   • Financial Planning and Analysis
   • Division of Finance and Administrative Affairs
   • Division of Student Affairs
3. The Department of Human Resources will compile an annual proposal to change, or extend without changes, the current pay practices for Student Hourly employees. Within the proposal, the compensation structure should be clearly identified, including standard rates of compensation for like positions, and pay rate maximums. Should the proposal include any changes to best practices or current operating procedures, further analysis and communications may be needed to ensure that any changes are possible and do not have a substantial impact on other employees or units.

Per designation by the Chancellor, both the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administrative Affairs are the final authorities on student hourly compensation. Decisions to extend, accept, or modify the proposal will occur before the academic year starts. The current proposal will remain in effect until a new proposal is approved. If notification is not received, the prior year’s approved compensation structure will remain in effect until a new compensation structure is approved.