Press Release

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 30, 2023

Pay Increases for Higher Ed Employees Sharply Improve, But Still Fall Short of Inflation Rate

New research from CUPA-HR has found that although employees across the higher education workforce saw the most substantial pay raises in 2022-23 than in the past several years, they are still being paid less than they were in 2019-20 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

Some of the key findings from an analysis of CUPA-HR’s higher ed workforce salary survey data from 2016 to 2023:

  • This academic year, raises for higher ed employees were the largest seen in the past seven years, and all position types (administrators, professionals, staff and faculty) received an increase of at least 1.11 percentage points compared to the previous year.
  • Tenure-track and non-tenure-track teaching faculty continue to receive the smallest pay increases of any higher ed position type. In 2022-23, tenure-track faculty saw a median pay increase of 2.9 percent and non-tenure-track faculty saw an increase of 3.2 percent. Tenure-track faculty salary increases have not kept pace with inflation since at least 2015, and non-tenure-track salary increases last met or exceeded inflation in 2016-17, meaning full-time faculty in general continue to be paid less every year in inflation-adjusted dollars.
  • Staff, which is typically the lowest-paid category of higher ed employees, saw the biggest raises this academic year at 5.3 percent (up from 2.9 percent in 2021-22).

Explore this data and more in CUPA-HR’s newest interactive graphic.

About CUPA-HR
CUPA-HR is the recognized authority on compensation surveys for higher education, with its workforce surveys designed by higher ed HR professionals for higher ed HR professionals and other campus leaders. CUPA-HR has been collecting data on the higher ed workforce for more than 50 years, and we maintain one of the largest workforce databases in existence. CUPA-HR also publishes numerous research publications and interactive graphics highlighting trends and issues around higher ed workforce planning, pay equity, representation of women and racial/ethnic minorities and more. Learn more about CUPA-HR research.

CUPA-HR is higher ed HR. We serve higher education by providing the knowledge, resources, advocacy and connections to achieve organizational and workforce excellence. Serving more than 33,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders at nearly 2,000 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad, the association offers learning and professional development programs, higher education salary and benefits data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.

Contact Information
Missy Kline
Project Manager – Communications and Marketing
[email protected]