Process Changes: What You Need to Know
Florida Tech is transitioning performance evaluations and merit-based salary increases from a calendar-year cycle to a fiscal-year cycle (July–June) beginning in 2026. This supports better budget alignment, improves consistency, and ensures clear expectations for employees and managers.
To "fill the gap" in timing created by this change, Florida Tech has defined a special, extended performance evaluation period: Jan. 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 (18 months). This ensures:
- No employee misses out an evaluation year
- No one gets a "double" evaluation
- Everyone stays aligned as the university transitions to the new cycle
Florida Tech will pay-out a one-time gap payment to eligible employees in July 2026. Following the extended cycle, merit increases will take effect in Jan. annually.
| Prior System | One-Time Extended Cycle | New System |
|---|---|---|
| Review period: Jan.-Dec. | Review period: Jan. 2025-June 2026 | Review period: July-June |
| Covers 12 months | Covers 18 months | Covers 12 months |
| Raises applied in Jan. | Gap payment in July 2026 Merit raise applied Jan. 2027 |
Raises applied in Jan. |
Gap Payment Details (Effective July 2026)
A one-time "gap payment" in July 2026 will compensate merit-eligible employees for the 6-month cycle shift.
Gap Payment Formula
The formula for determining the gap payment amount is as follows:
(Annual salary x BOT-approved merit %) x 0.5* = Gap payment amount
*Representing half the year or 6 months.
So, for an employee who makes $50,000/yr. and would have earned a 3% merit increase, the calculation would be as follows: ($50,000 x .03) x 0.5 = $750.
Gap Payment Eligibility
Eligible
- Full-time and part-time employees hired on or before Dec. 31, 2025
Not Eligible
- Temporary employees
- Adjunct faculty
- Student workers
Merit Salary Increase Eligibility (Effective Jan. 2027)
Merit salary increases are always subject to financial feasibility and approval by the Florida Tech Board of Trustees; merit salary increases are never guaranteed.
Eligible
- Full-time and part-time employees hired on or before June 30, 2026
Not Eligible
- Temporary employees
- Adjunct faculty
- Student workers
Transition Timeline
| Date | Milestone | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 2026 | Communication and outreach | Manager trainings begin and FAQ answered |
| April 2026 | Self-evaluations | Employees to complete in July 2026 |
| July 2026 | Gap payments | One-time payments made to eligible employees |
| Aug. 2026 | Manager reviews |
First cycle review (Jan. 2025 to June 2026) |
| Oct. 2026 | Performance evaluations |
Merit-based reviews completed |
| Jan. 2027 | Merit salary increases | Base salary adjustments go into effect |
| July 2027 | Next cycle evaluations begin | Review performance for July 2026-June 2027 cycle |
| Jan. 2028 | Merit salary increases | Base salary adjustments go into effect |
Questions & Answers
To ensure that ideas and insights from offices and departments around the university were heard prior to any changes being finalized, the university engaged faculty and staff in a trio of work groups charged with evaluating and making recommendations regarding the evaluation competencies, rating scale, approval flow, and evaluation period/timing.
The task force teams were as follows:
- Staff Evaluation Task Force: Phil Bernhard (College of Engineering and Science), Evan Olsen (Dining), Lee Myers (Facilities Operations), Tara Van Ness (Athletics), Jeffrey Richardson (University Events & Protocol, Staff Advisory Council)
- Faculty Evaluation Task Force: Jessica Wildman (School of Psychology), Meredith Carroll (College of Aeronautics), Christian Sonnenberg (College of Business), Brian Lail (Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), Mark Archambault (Provost's Office)
- VP/Dean Evaluation Task Force: John Z. Kiss (Provost's Office), Ted Richardson (College of Business), Brian Ehrlich (Enrollment Management)
All three task forces included Jessica Vinson (HR), Pat Francois (HR), Melissa Huggins (HR), and Amanda Moske (Institutional Research & Strategic Analytics), who provided leadership, guidance and support.
Full-time and part-time employees hired on or before December 31, 2025. Temps, adjuncts, and student workers are not eligible.
Full-time and part-time employees hired on or before June 30, 2026 are eligible for the next merit increase (effective January 2027). Temporary employees, adjuncts, and student workers are not eligible.
You will not receive the gap payment but may still qualify for merit increases if hired by June 30, 2026.
You will become eligible for merit increases in future cycles according to HR policy.
The gap payment does not impact your salary, which will remain consistent until the next cycle.
Standard payroll taxes and deductions will apply to the gap payment.
July 31 each year.
Eligibility rules do not change who receives a performance evaluation. All full-time and part-time employees receive evaluations; eligibility only affects compensation, not participation.
Managers will only evaluate full-time and part-time employees hired on or before June 30, 2026. Temps and student workers are not asked to participate in annual performance evaluations, and adjunct faculty participate in their own evaluation process.