Compensation Programs

Base Pay

Northeastern’s goal is to have base salaries which are competitive on average with the market. This means that the average salary of all the incumbents in any job should be close to the average of salaries for the same job in the relevant market (higher education and/or general industry). Individual salaries may be above or below the average, depending on factors such as performance and experience.

Merit Increases – Pay for Performance

The University’s Pay for Performance philosophy means that salary increases will be made primarily based on an individual’s performance. When a merit pool has been established, HRM develops guidelines for distributing merit increases based on performance. Merit increases for Administrative Professional staff and Office Support & Technical staff are effective July 1 of each year. Increases are based on performance.

Staff Bonus Program

The University’s bonus program provides managers the opportunity to award special, lump-sum payments to eligible staff in recognition of extraordinary contributions. Bonuses are distributed at the end of the fiscal year. Because this program is intended to recognize accomplishments beyond even top performance of regular job duties, the percentage of staff members who actually receive a bonus is limited, and bonuses will not automatically recur from one year to the next. In years when bonuses are funded, they generally fall within the range of 2% to 5% of the recipient’s salary. Eligibility requirements and other details of the program can be obtained by contacting Compensation staff in Human Resources Management.