Appendix A - Glossary of Terms
Base Pay Rate: An Employee's rate of pay exclusive of any additional pay, such as overtime, shift differential, etc.
Career Ladder: A series of defined levels within a Job Family where the nature of the work is similar and the levels represent requirements for increased skill, knowledge and responsibility as an Employee moves throughout their career.
Demotion: An Employee's movement from one Job to a second Job in a lower Pay Range. Demotion is distinguished from Job Evaluation that results in the reassignment of a single Job and all Employees in that Job to a lower Pay Range.
Divisional Officer: For the purposes of these guidelines, Divisional Officers are the University President, Executive V.P. and Provost, and V.P. Finance and Administration.
Employee: An individual who provides services to the University on a regular basis in exchange for compensation and receives a W-2 for such services. For purposes of this policy, Employee is limited to benefit-eligible, non-teaching Positions and excludes Employees in the Division of Industry and Defense Programs (IDP).
Exempt: A Position which is Exempt from the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Exempt Positions are paid on a "salary basis" within the meaning of the FLSA regulations. These Positions are typically managerial, supervisory, professional or administrative roles.
External Review: The comparison of a Job's value relative to the "going market rates" of its competitors in the prevailing market outside of the University.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): A federal law which establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting Employees in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments.
Green-Circled Rate: A Base Pay Rate which is below the Pay Range minimum for the Job.
Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP): A Human Resources professional who is assigned to specific areas of the University to assist Leaders with the business objectives of those areas.
Human Resources Compensation Team: The Human Resources team who is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of the market-based compensation program.
In-Range Adjustment: A Base Pay Rate increase due to an increase in the Job's scope with no change in the Job's Pay Range.
Internal Review: The internal comparison of a Job to other Jobs within the University to determine the appropriate Pay Range assignment.
Job: A general classification of the tasks, functions and requirements that an Employee is required to perform. A Job can have multiple Positions, but each Position can only be associated with one Job.
Job Architecture: The infrastructure or hierarchy of Jobs within the University.
Job Catalog: A library of Jobs available within the University.
Job Description: A written statement which lists the elements of a Job, such as summary of responsibilities, essential functions, minimum education, minimum experience, and required licensure and/or certifications.
Job Evaluation: A review of a Job, both externally and internally, to determine the appropriate Pay Range assignment within the Salary Structure.
Job Family: A group of Jobs that are similar in the nature of work that they perform.
Job Levels: Levels within a particular Job or Job Family which are differentiated based on established criteria. Examples of Job Levels include, but may not be limited to, "assistant," "coordinator," "lead/supervisor," and "manager". Job Levels are referenced in Appendix B: Job Leveling Framework.
Leader: Individuals at the University who have Employees reporting to them, or Department Chairs/Director.
Lump Sum Payment: A payment made to Employees in lieu of an increase to the Employee's Base Pay Rate. Lump Sum Payments are generally made to an Employee if a Base Pay Rate increase would cause the Base Pay Rate to exceed the Pay Range maximum.
Market Pricing: A Job Evaluation methodology which utilizes the duties of an internal Job to compare to similarly-situated Jobs in the external labor market.
Median (50th Percentile): A value which lies in the middle of a distribution. For Salary Survey purposes, the 50th Percentile is the Median/average rate being paid to Employees in a particular Job and is considered the "market rate" which is neither lagging nor leading the market.
Midpoint Differential: The percentage difference between the midpoint of one Pay Range and the midpoint of the next highest Pay Range in the Salary Structure.
Non-Exempt: A Job that is generally paid on an hourly basis and are subject to all FLSA minimum wage and overtime regulations.
Pay Range: The range of pay rates, from minimum to maximum, that is assigned to a group of Jobs that have similar pay rates in the market and is used as a basis for setting individual Employee Base Pay Rates.
Percentile: A measurement used to indicate the value below which the pay rates for a given percentage of incumbents are placed in the Salary Survey. For example, the 25th Percentile indicates that 25% of the incumbents in the Salary Survey for that survey scope are below or at that amount.
Position: A "placeholder" within the University which can exist with or without an Employee assigned to it. An Employee in a Position will also be assigned to a Job within the Job Catalog. A Job can have multiple Positions, but each Position can only be associated with one Job.
Promotion: An Employee's movement from one Job to a different Job in a higher Pay Range. Promotion is distinguished from Job Evaluation that results in the reassignment of a single Job and all Employees in that Job to a higher Pay Range.
Red-Circled Rate: A Base Pay Rate which is above the Pay Range maximum for the Job.
Salary Structure: The hierarchy of Pay Ranges established within the University.
Salary Survey: Salary information collected by independent, third-party surveys, which provide aggregate salary data for Jobs in the same geographical, industry or other specific scope in which the University competes for labor. These surveys strictly adhere with safe harbor guidelines in order to avoid antitrust violations that may be viewed as price fixing.
Total Compensation: The complete pay package awarded to an Employee on an annual basis, including all forms of cash compensation, benefits, and in-kind payments.
Transfer: An Employee's movement from one Job to a second Job in the same Pay Range.
Working Title: A title used to describe the function of the Position in even greater detail or more easily recognized terms in both internal and external communications.
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Who to Contact
MBC Transition Team
MarketBasedComp@wichita.edu 
SME: JO
Revised: 7/26/2021 HR