American University 2023-24 Salary Increases for Non-Union Faculty & Staff

To advance our “How AU Works” strategic priority and support our people, AU’s budget for July 2023-June 2024 (“FY24”) continues our compensation enhancements, including measures that address external conditions and continue to recognize staff performance. 

Full-time staff represented by a union received salary increases in accordance with the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.

The information below is for staff who are not in a union. Several key investments have been made in FY24 that will support our workforce. These investments included:

• An across-the-board increase: Effective July 1, 2023, eligible full-time faculty and staff received a 2.5 percent increase to their base salary. Eligible bi-weekly paid staff saw increases in their July 21, 2023 paycheck. Eligible monthly-paid staff received increases starting in their July 31, 2023 paycheck.
• Performance-based compensation Increases: Effective September 2023, eligible full-time staff and faculty may have received annual compensation increases following the performance review process. Departments and units were allocated a 1 percent performance compensation pool to distribute to reward strong performance. 
• Minimum wage and pay band increases: Effective July 1, 2023, the pay rates of eligible part-time staff increased to reflect the DC minimum wage increase to $17.00 per hour. Eligible full-time staff received an increase to reflect increases in the pay band minimums if their pay fell below the new pay band zone one minimums. Full-time staff members earning less than $40,000 were raised to this new minimum salary.

• Equity Increases:  In January 2024, the second round of equity adjustments for full-time staff who earn less than $100,000 and have completed 5-9 years of service (1 percent adjustment), 10-14 years of service (2 percent), and 15 or more years of service (3 percent), will be distributed.   

What was the Across-the-Board Increase?

The July 2023 across-the-board increase was a 2.5 percent increase to the base salaries of eligible employees who supported our workforce during unique economic times. This was our second year providing eligible full-time and part-time employees with across-the-board increases. It was separate from a performance-based increase pool. The across-the-board increase was applied to wages after increases to either the new DC minimum wage or the new pay band minimums.

Who was Eligible for the Across-the-Board Increase?

This across-the-board adjustment was available to:

• Full- and non-temporary part-time employees
• To be eligible, an employee must have been hired, promoted, or received a pay increase before May 1, 2023.
• Faculty and staff whose positions are funded through external sources may have received the increase to the extent permissible under the funding source.
• Faculty holding 9-month term appointments and have been reappointed for Fall 2023 received the across-the-board increase effective September 1, 2023.

Who received a pay band increase?

AU’s staff compensation structure is designed to ensure similar compensation for similar positions across the university. Each full-time position is assigned to one of the hourly pay band or salaried pay band levels based on several factors, including the benchmarked market rate for the role, if available, or the relative value of the position to other similar jobs at the university. Staff whose annualized pay fell below the new band minimum for their position’s assigned band on July 1, 2023, received an adjustment to the new band minimum. 

Please contact your unit-level HR representative or hrpayrollhelp@american.edu if you have questions about your current pay band.

How does performance-based salary increase work?

In September 2023, eligible full-time faculty and staff may have received an increase based on their performance during the last academic year’s performance cycle. The Performance-Based Increase pool approved by the Board of Trustees was separate from the across-the-board increase described above. By creating separate pools, units could focus the performance-based pool on its intended purpose to better reward performance this past year and incentivize ongoing strong performance.

Please contact hrpayrollhelp@american.edu if you have any questions.