Biweekly Pay Transition - FAQ for Graduate Assistants & Salaried Student Employees
When is my pay schedule being converted?
To determine which conversion timeline you are on, please find your paycheck statement in HR PeopleSoft Employee Self-Service. Locate your Pay Group and Job Title at the top of your paycheck statement and then read the following section.
Will monthly employees be paid hourly?
No, salaried employees will still be paid a set amount not determined by hours entered on their timesheet. Salaried employees will take their annual salary divided by 26* pay periods in the year to calculate their biweekly pay if being paid over a full 12-months. *If you are paid by the semester or by the academic year you will have a set biweekly rate that corresponds with the annual goal amount as communicated by your hiring department.
I’m going to need help figuring out my personal finances/budget, is there someone who can help me?
Yes, Magellan (our Employee Assistance Program) will host financial planning workshops and provide additional financial planning resources.
What should I do, as an employee, to prepare for this change?
Make sure you’re familiar with the new payday schedule and the employee resources on our website. If you have questions attend a town hall presentation and/or email us at paydaychange@ou.edu. You should verify when your bills are due/when auto-drafts are made and make any changes necessary to your bill pay schedule. Review your personal finances and make any updates to account for this pay frequency change.
My biweekly rate is less than 1/2 of my monthly paycheck. Why?
There are 26* biweekly pay periods during the calendar year, which results in ten months having two biweekly paychecks and two months with three paychecks. To calculate your gross biweekly paycheck amount you would take your annual salary and divide by 26. *If you are to be paid for one-semester the biweekly equivalent is 10 pay periods and if you are to be paid for one-full academic year you would be paid for 20 pay periods.
Do I have less money per month on the biweekly schedule?
The amount of pay you have on any given date may be different on the new schedule, but it is not necessarily less. Because you will be paid more frequently on a biweekly schedule, there are actually ~329 days out of the year that you will have more of your pay in your possession under the biweekly schedule than the monthly schedule.
Why are we transitioning to biweekly instead of semi-monthly in which we could be paid on the 1st and 15th?
More than half of OU employees are already on a biweekly schedule, this includes all hourly paid employees on Norman campus as well as all HSC employees. Moreover, the State of Oklahoma does not offer a semi-monthly payroll schedule option.
Is there a tool I can use to see what my paycheck will look like when I transition to being paid biweekly?
Yes, you can use salary calculators like what is provided by PaycheckCity: https://www.paycheckcity.com/calculator
For questions about the transition to biweekly payroll please email us at paydaychange@ou.edu.
