General Base Pay Increase and Bonus Information
Following the General Assembly’s adoption of the state of South Carolina’s Fiscal Year 2022-23 General Appropriation Act, Clemson will provide a general increase (i.e., cost-of-living adjustment or COLA) to all eligible employees. Additionally, the University will provide an additional one-time lump sum bonus to eligible staff and faculty who earn $100,000 and below base pay per year.
General Increase/COLA
The COLA will provide a base salary increase of three percent (3.00%) for eligible classified and unclassified faculty and staff and will be reflected in eligible employees’ pay beginning with the July 15 paycheck for eligible 12-month employees and the August 31 paycheck for eligible 9-month employees.
General Increase (COLA) Eligibility
Who is eligible for a general increase (COLA)?
Classified and unclassified staff and faculty, both full-time and part-time, hired on or before June 16, 2022, and currently employed in the following positions:
- Full-time Equivalent (FTE)
- Time-Limited Positions (TLP), contract permitting
- Grant Positions (TGP), grant permitting
Who is not eligible for a general increase (COLA)?
- Employees hired on or after June 17, 2022
- Employees in Temporary Positions (TMP)
- Student-workers (graduate and undergraduate)
- Judge/judicial classified employee
- Employees paid by lump sum only, without a set hourly rate/annual salary (formerly referred to as Intermittent)
In past years, the general increase was applied based on merit/performance for unclassified staff and faculty positions. Recognizing current economic trends, the University made the decision to apply the three percent general increase uniformly across the board for all eligible unclassified faculty and staff for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The decision to apply the general increase uniformly this year does not set a precedent to apply it uniformly for future years.
Fiscal Year 2022-23 Bonus
The state proviso provides institutions of higher education the flexibility of how to implement a bonus program. Once the COLA was funded with a combination of state and university funds, the University invested additional funding to support a bonus program dedicated to assisting those faculty and staff disproportionately affected by the current economic trends.
The one-time bonus per eligible employee–capped at those earning more than $100,000, will be implemented as shown in the table below and is based on the employee’s base salary on January 1, 2022. The bonus will be reflected in an eligible employee’s October 31 paycheck, as was prescribed by the state proviso.
