June 30, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to share that the University of California will be implementing systemwide salary increases for eligible policy-covered employees for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

We are deeply grateful for your exceptional contributions to our University. Thank you for your dedication and for the vital work you do every day to advance our mission and support our academic community.

Summary of UC’s 2026-27 salary program:

  • Eligible policy-covered (non-represented) career staff employees will receive a 4 percent general salary increase, effective July 1, 2026, for monthly and June 21, 2026, for bi-weekly paid employees.
  • Salary scales for eligible policy-covered faculty will be increased by a general range adjustment of 4 percent, effective October 1, 2026. For other non-faculty, non-represented, policy-covered academic appointees, salary scales will be increased by a 4 percent range adjustment, effective July 1, 2026.
  • The regular peer-review merit advancement process for policy-covered academic appointees will continue in accordance with academic personnel policy.
     

In addition to the general salary increase, UC Santa Barbara will implement a 1 percent general equity increase for all eligible policy-covered (non-represented) career staff employees, effective October 1, 2026, for monthly and September 27, 2026, for bi-weekly paid employees.

Further details about the implementation of this year’s salary program will be distributed by Human Resources and Academic Personnel, respectively.

Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) Award Program

As I shared in my June 12 message on enhancing the staff experience, the campus is establishing a UC Santa Barbara Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) Award program to reward staff effort and accomplishment.

For the 2026-27 year, the STAR award program will be funded utilizing one-time funds. It will provide discretionary cash awards to celebrate excellence through two specific avenues:

  • Achievement Awards: Recognizing sustained, exceptional performance and significant contributions over an extended period.
  • Spot Awards: Recognizing specific contributions and project successes.
     

More information will be forthcoming from campus Human Resources regarding eligibility and how to utilize this new program.

Should you have any questions about the 2026-27 salary program for staff employees, please contact Ann-Marie Musto at ammusto@ucsb.edu. Questions pertaining to faculty and academic personnel should be directed to Leesa Beck at leesa@ucsb.edu.

Sincerely,
Dennis Assanis, Chancellor