RPI has partnered with Huron Consulting Group to conduct a comprehensive Total Rewards Study for staff and faculty. This study will evaluate all aspects of our total rewards program—including base pay, health and wellness and all campus benefits—while also recognizing the unique value of working in higher education and the meaningful impact our community has on students, research, and innovation. The findings will help us better understand how our total rewards framework compares to peer institutions and guide future efforts to attract, develop, and retain exceptional talent in advancing RPI Forward.
Goals
The goals of this study are to better understand the Institute’s progress toward ensuring competitive and fair compensation and benefits that support the entire employee experience while understanding opportunities to better recruit, develop and retain top talent.
Study progress will be tracked against the following objectives:
- Conduct a benchmark market compensation analysis for approximately 580 staff positions, 22 executive/leadership positions, and all faculty roles for which there are 544 active Faculty as of November 2025.
- Evaluate benefits offerings against market benchmarks and peer institutions to assess their competitiveness
- Determine total rewards enhancement opportunities, including geographic pay strategy, base pay structures, variable pay, and benefits offerings.
Study Phases
The study follows a phased approach, with each stage building upon the insights of the last. Faculty and staff will be engaged throughout the process to provide input and feedback, ensuring the study remains aligned with campus priorities while promoting steady progress and continuous improvement.
- Confirm objectives, scope, timing and campus engagement approach
- Submit initial information and data request
- Discuss and confirm compensation philosophy and market strategy
Target timeframe: August – October 2025
- Identify external market matches for each job and vet with the Core Team
- Analyze market alignment and benefits competitiveness
Target timeframe: October – December 2025
- Develop recommendations for geographic pay differentials, pay structure adjustments, variable pay opportunities and benefits options
Target timeframe: December 2025-March 2026
Develop an implementation roadmap and communications plan
Target timeframe: March 2026-April 2026
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below are some frequently asked questions. These will be updated throughout the study to reflect additional inquires brought up by campus stakeholders.
General Questions
RPI Forward sets a bold vision to position RPI as the leading science and engineering university by 2034. Achieving this requires attracting and retaining top talent. The Total Rewards Study ensures our programs remain competitive, equitable, and aligned with workforce and market needs.
Regular compensation and benefits reviews are an industry best practice. They help identify challenges, ensure competitiveness, and highlight opportunities to strengthen RPI’s total rewards programs.
The results of the study will provide data to help leadership evaluate RPI’s compensation relative to the market. While individual pay adjustments are not guaranteed as part of this study, the findings may inform future compensation strategies and updates over time based on the Institutes Total Rewards Philosophy.
No. The Total Rewards Study is not a cost-savings measure and will not result in base pay reductions.
The study is anticipated to last approximately 36 weeks from August 2025 to April 2026.
In scope jobs:
- Full Time Staff (Including Executive/Leadership, Athletics Staff + Coaches, and Research Staff)
- Part Time Staff
- Academic Administrators (e.g. Dean)
- Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty
- Non-Tenure Teaching Track Faculty
- Non-Tenure Research Track Faculty
- Adjunct Faculty
- Faculty on Leave
Out of scope jobs:
- Seasonal or Temporary Staff
- Graduate Assistants
- Visiting Faculty
- Emeritus Faculty
Huron is partnering with the Division of Human Resources, the Provost’s Office, and the Division of Finance to lead this important study.
The Executive Sponsor Team— Vice President for Human Resources Lou Padula, Vice President for Finance & CFO Eileen McLoughlin, and the Provost Rebecca Doerge—provides strategic oversight and makes key decisions based on stakeholder input that guide the study’s direction.
A dedicated Core Team, representing HR, Finance, the Provost’s Office, and Institutional Research, is responsible for refining goals, reviewing findings, and ensuring the study remains aligned with institutional priorities within RPI Forward.
To promote transparency and collaboration, key stakeholder groups—including Deans, Department Heads, Faculty Senate, Research Center Directors, Business and Administrative Managers, the Staff Advisory Group, Athletics, and others— are actively engaged throughout the process to share perspectives and feedback.
This work aims to strengthen RPI’s overall employee experience by providing:
- Greater clarity on compensation and benefits strategy
- Stronger alignment with market standards and peers
- Increased transparency and understanding of compensation and benefits decisions
This initiative is a study, not an implementation of immediate changes. The goal of this study is to gather insights and evaluate current practices. After concluding in April 2026, a series of validation steps and planning activities will follow before any implementation decisions are made.
Total Rewards Philosophy Questions
A total rewards philosophy is an overarching strategy for compensation and benefits, outlining goals, guiding principles, and governance for how total rewards decisions are developed and implemented.
The objectives of RPI’s Total Rewards Program are:
- Attract, develop and retain top talent
- Steward institutional resources effectively
- Base pay philosophy on objective criteria
- Encourage growth and development and reward high performance
- Ensure fair and consistent pay across disciplines
The updated Total Rewards Philosophy will be shared at the conclusion of the study as part of the broader campus-wide engagement and communication of the study's findings.
Market Strategy Questions
A market strategy defines the talent markets RPI competes in, including industry (higher education and general industry), geography (national, regional and local), and peer groups. It also includes reference points in the resulting talent market. Strategies will differ by job type, function and complexity.
RPI’s peers include comparable higher education institutions with strong science and engineering programs, similar operating budgets, enrollment, student-faculty ratios, and a shared commitment to research excellence and financial strength.
The Study Core Team held campus stakeholder discussions at the beginning of the study to learn what types of higher education institutions we are competing with for talent. Additionally, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment applied a labor market peer identification process to determine high-fit higher education institutions of which we may compete for talent. A review of all input and analysis was conducted by members of the HR, Finance, Provost, and Office of Institutional Research and Assessment teams and presented to the Project Sponsors to finalize the labor market peer group used for comparison.
Benchmarking Questions
We are using CUPA-HR and Western Management Group as the primary sources for higher education compensation data. Although many specialized association surveys exist, the surveys we are using are widely recognized in higher education and offer the strongest foundation for analysis. Both of our survey sources are professionally managed and provide robust data with high response rates and a reporting structure that remains consistent over time, allowing for ongoing, meaningful analysis. Additional surveys may be used as supplemental reference points.
We compare jobs based on their responsibilities, level of complexity, and skills required to be proficient in the job. This process helps us understand the market rate for various positions and ensures our compensation practices are competitive.
Faculty job benchmarking involves comparing RPI faculty jobs to similar faculty jobs at similar institutions based on tenure status, academic rank, and discipline.
If a job does not have a clear match in the market, we first search for the closest match based on most job responsibilities. We then look at a myriad of factors, including specialized skills, expertise that is difficult to recruit for, and jobs performing similar functions at RPI to determine the right market match.
Benefits and Leave Questions
In addition to reviewing compensation, the study will review several key total rewards components including health, retirement, and leave offerings. These elements help us understand how our overall benefits compare to peer institutions and ensure that we provide a competitive and comprehensive package.
Just as with base pay benchmarking, the benefits and leave benchmarking is focused on gathering and analyzing data, providing RPI with the means to prioritize investments in coming years. No immediate changes will be made to your benefits or leave. If adjustments are recommended in the future, we will communicate them clearly and provide ample time for questions and feedback.
