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Provost

Market Adjustment Process

Market adjustments align faculty salaries with external market conditions. This process is available to tenured and tenure-track faculty and is administered by the Office of the Provost.

This page outlines the eligibility, timelines, and the process for requesting a market adjustment for tenured and tenure-track faculty. Additional details are available in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Section 13.250.

To begin, submit the Market Adjustment Application Request Form.

Spring 2026 Timeline

  • Application Request Form Due: Sunday, April 12, 2026
  • Interfolio Materials Submission Due: Monday, April 20, 2026
  • Chair/Director Faculty Vote Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026

Eligibility

Market adjustments are available to tenured and tenure-track faculty members within the bargaining unit.

Funding Structure

The market adjustment program includes two funding pools.

Pool 1: Annual Review Cycle

  • Deadline: Monday, April 20, 2026
  • For faculty demonstrating marketability without an external offer
  • Priority is given to faculty who have not requested a market adjustment within the past three years
  • Approved adjustments take effect at the beginning of the following academic year

Pool 2: Time-Sensitive Requests (Rolling)

  • Deadline: Rolling
  • For faculty with an external offer or active recruitment
  • Intended for situations where there is a strong likelihood of departure without immediate action

Application Process

Last udpated: Spring 2026

The Market Adjustment process is facilitated through Interfolio.

  1. Submit Application Request Form
    Complete the Market Adjustment Application Request Form to notify the Office of the Provost of your intent to seek a market adjustment.
  2. Interfolio Case Created
    The Office of the Provost will create your Market Adjustment case in Interfolio and notify you by email when your case is available.
  3. Submit Materials
    Upload all required materials to your Interfolio case.
    Log into Interfolio using your UM Single Sign-On credentials.
  4. Faculty Vote
    The Chair/Director will coordinate a faculty vote and document the results.
    Chairs and Directors should begin this step early to meet the deadline.
    See the Faculty Vote Process and Qualtrics Survey Instructions sections below for additional guidance.
  5. Chair/Director Uploads Results
    The Chair/Director uploads the vote results to the Interfolio case.
  6. Committee Review
    The UFA-ADM Committee reviews submitted materials using a standardized rubric. See the Committee Review section below for details.
  7. Provost Decision
    The Provost makes the final decision and determines any approved adjustment amount. The Provost may consult with the dean before making a final determination.
  8. Notification
    Faculty are notified via Interfolio when a decision letter is available.

Required Materials

Faculty must upload the following materials to their Interfolio case:

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)
  • Market Adjustment Request Letter
  • Evidence of Marketability
  • CUPA Salary Data

2025–2026 CUPA salary data, updated March 23, 2026, is available for faculty to review by discipline.

Faculty Vote Process

The Chair or Director is responsible for securing a majority vote of tenured and tenure-track faculty within the academic unit.

  • Voting is conducted using a Qualtrics survey
  • Faculty may meet to discuss the request, with or without the candidate present
  • The candidate may choose whether to share their materials with colleagues
  • The Chair or Director must upload the vote results to the Interfolio case, regardless of the outcome

See the Qualtrics Survey Instructions section below for step-by-step guidance.

Qualtrics Survey Instructions

Follow these steps to create and distribute the faculty vote survey:

  1. Log in to Qualtrics through MyUM for Employees, using your NetID.
  2. Click Create New Project in the lower right corner of the main screen.
  3. Under From Scratch, select Survey and click Get Started.
  4. Title your survey [Faculty Last Name] – Market Adjustment.
  5. Under How do you want to start your survey?, select Import a QSF file and upload the Market Adjustment template file. Right-click the link and "Save Link As."
  6. If you experience issues downloading the template, contact officeoftheprovost@umontana.edu.
  7. Update the survey question to include the faculty member’s name.
  8. Click Publish to activate the survey.
  9. Copy the survey link and distribute it to eligible faculty voters.
  10. After the voting period closes, go to the Results tab and export the vote results as a PDF.

The survey is pre-configured to ensure anonymous participation and limit responses to one per faculty member.

Committee Review

For annual cycle submissions (Funding Pool 1), the UFA-ADM Committee evaluates applications using the following rubric:

  • Tier 1: Offer letter for a comparable position or invitation for an in-person interview
  • Tier 2: Invitation to participate in a first-round interview or personalized invitation to apply for a specific position
  • Tier 3: Generic invitation (e.g., from a search firm) to apply for a position or evidence that the faculty member's skillset/speciality is especially marketable or difficult to replace

Additional Guidance

Who Should Consider Applying?

  • Your salary is below CUPA benchmarks
  • You have been contacted or recruited by another institution
  • Your discipline is highly competitive or difficult to replace

What Strengthens an Application?

  • Clear evidence of external interest or demand
  • Competitive salary comparisons
  • Demonstrated impact and contributions within your field