Dear Campus Community,
On December 3, 2025, the Middle Tennessee State University Board of Trustees approved my salary enhancement recommendations, which took effect on January 1, 2026.
This approval authorizes the University to allocate a total of $2.15 million to continue reducing the gap between actual employee salaries and market benchmarks, as reported by CUPA for the 2024–25 period. These adjustments apply to employees on the payroll as of December 31, 2025, are effective January 1, 2026, and will be reflected in the January 31, 2026, payroll.
This multi-step process to transition to the new benchmarks included the following actions:
- Completing prior market adjustments to bring all employees to CUPA-reported market levels for 2020–21.
- Updating all MTSU salary ranges based on CUPA market data for 2024–25.
- Adjusting salaries to the minimum of the new pay grades, when necessary. This step occurs only in years when salary ranges and market benchmarks are updated.
- Beginning to move employees within their new pay ranges based on range penetration and years of MTSU experience. This year, MTSU experience was pro-rated rather than rounded down. After completing the previous steps, the University was able to fund approximately 2.68% of each employee’s calculated market gap.
Supervisors will be provided with information about the market adjustments and new salary figures for their areas. These will be shared next week once all calculations are finalized and verified. The methodology used for these adjustments will also be posted on the University website in the coming days.
This represents another significant step in addressing a long-standing priority for the University and reaffirms our commitment to maintaining competitive compensation for our employees. I want you to know how deeply I value each of you and how much I appreciate the important work you do on behalf of MTSU. I am grateful for the Board’s support and pleased that we are able to make these salary investments in our employees.
Sincerely,
Sidney A. McPhee