Short answer
How do Salem-Keizer teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Salem-Keizer has seven columns, coded 102 (BA) through 108 (MA+45), and 16 steps. A teacher who completes coursework that qualifies for a new column submits evidence by 5:00 p.m. on September 15 or February 15. Pay changes on the first day of the month after the district approves that evidence.
Source: SKEA–Salem-Keizer Collective Bargaining Agreement 2025–2027, Article IV.B. Checked .
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How is the Salem-Keizer teacher salary schedule organized?
The licensed schedule appears as Appendix A of the agreement, and the 2026–27 version is posted on the district's licensed salary schedules page. It reads left to right in seven numbered columns:
- 102: BA Degree
- 103: BA Degree Plus 24 Hrs.
- 104: BA Degree Plus 45 Hrs.
- 105: BA Degree Plus 69 Hrs.
- 106: MA Degree
- 107: MA Degree Plus 24 Hrs.
- 108: MA Degree Plus 45 Hrs.
Those increments, 24, 45 and 69, are uneven on purpose and do not line up with the 15-hour blocks used in some neighboring districts. A teacher with a bachelor's degree passes through three plus-hour columns before the master's columns begin, and the master's columns restart the count at zero.
Steps run from 1 to 16 in every column, and only column 108 adds a step 17. The appendix spells out what a step means: Step 1 carries no experience credit, and Step 6 means five years of credited experience, with the teacher entering year six. For teachers hired before July 1, 2004, when step "0" was removed, the step number equals completed years. The schedule is built on a 192-day work year.
The agreement raises the base schedule 4% for 2025–26 and 3.5% for 2026–27, and each year adds a fixed amount to the top cell of the MA, MA+24 and MA+45 columns. Teachers who sit three years at the maximum of columns 105, 107 or 108 also draw longevity pay once every three years. The district picks up the 6% employee contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System. A teacher holding National Board certification or an accredited doctorate gets an annual stipend on top of the schedule. For help reading the grid, see how to read a salary schedule.
Which units count toward a Salem-Keizer column change?
For classroom teachers the agreement is brief. Article IV.B.1 refers to "course work which qualifies them for a change from one salary schedule column to another" and says no more about level, accreditation or subject. The column headings count "Hrs." without saying whether they are quarter or semester hours. Human Resources evaluates each submission, so teachers holding semester-hour transcripts should ask that office how their hours will be counted, and read our note on quarter versus semester units first.
Where the agreement does convert units, it uses quarter hours. Article IV.B.2 lets registered nurses, licensed occupational and physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, athletic trainers and audiologists advance with continuing education units, at ten clock hours per quarter hour of college credit. Each clock hour needs a certificate showing the hours, subject area and date, and no more than 240 clock hours earned since the last deadline can be filed at one time. That route is not open to classroom teachers under the agreement's wording.
Our article on units that count lists the questions to put to HR before enrolling: course level, the college's accreditation, and whether the hours fall after the degree that set your current column.
Does Salem-Keizer require approval before you take a course?
The agreement does not require approval before enrolling for a column change. The approval it describes happens after the work is done: the district reviews the "evidence of satisfactory completion," and the pay change is tied to the date that review is approved.
Reimbursement has its own rules in Article VI.C. On request, the district reimburses tuition and professional development up to a per-employee cap each fiscal year, unless a grant or another program already paid, and may limit the district-wide total. Continuing education units can be reimbursed on a prorated basis within the teacher's area of licensure, at the same ten-clock-hours-per-quarter-hour rate. Courses the district requires are reimbursed in addition to the cap, and dues for approved professional organizations count against it. Our pre-approval forms article explains why a short written check with HR is still worth having when no form is required.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
Salem-Keizer runs two windows. Evidence is due to the district by September 15 or February 15, at 5:00 p.m. The salary adjustment takes effect "on the first day of the month following approval of evidence by the District."
Two practical consequences follow. First, a summer course whose grade posts late can still be filed in February instead of waiting a full year. Second, the raise does not start on the filing date; it starts at the beginning of the month after the district signs off. A teacher who files on September 10 and is approved on September 28 is paid on the new column from October 1. See transcript deadlines for how grade posting times affect these dates.
Do the same units count toward Oregon license renewal?
Oregon's licensing commission, TSPC, has stopped collecting professional development units for licenses that expire before July 1, 2029. A Salem-Keizer teacher in that group renews without reporting coursework. When reporting returns for later expirations, a Preliminary Teaching License needs 75 PDUs and a Professional Teaching License 125. TSPC values a quarter credit at 20 PDUs and a semester credit at 30.
TSPC states that the pause does not suspend any district requirement, and Salem-Keizer's column rules are separate from renewal in any case. A course can count for both, one or neither. The renewal section of the Oregon guide has the full TSPC rules, and the Oregon state guide compares how other districts write their columns.
Where can Salem-Keizer teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Salem-Keizer included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Salem-Keizer's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What Salem-Keizer says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Salem-Keizer: Qualifying coursework; CEUs only for listed specialist roles | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Salem-Keizer: September 15 or February 15, 5:00 p.m. | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Salem-Keizer: Not required; district approves evidence after completion | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
With those rules in hand, compare providers on the same points. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
- TLC Graduate Credits: self-paced, units through CSU Pueblo; $425 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Upward Teachers: self-paced, 1 to 6 months, letter grade, units through UMass Global; $240 sale for 3 credits (price notes)
- VESi: self-paced online, 2- or 3-unit courses on special-needs instruction, units through University of the Pacific; $444 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Salem-Keizer has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Salem-Keizer salary questions teachers ask
What is the Salem-Keizer pay column change deadline?
September 15 or February 15, by 5:00 p.m. The agreement's Article IV.B.1 sets both dates.
When does my raise start after I file?
On the first day of the month after the district approves your evidence of completion, not on the day you file.
What do the column numbers 102 to 108 mean?
They are the district's codes for its seven pay columns: 102 is BA, 103 is BA+24, 104 is BA+45, 105 is BA+69, 106 is MA, 107 is MA+24 and 108 is MA+45.
Can Salem-Keizer teachers use CEUs to change columns?
The agreement allows CEUs for column movement only for nurses, therapists, speech-language pathologists, social workers, athletic trainers and audiologists, at ten clock hours per quarter hour. It does not extend that route to classroom teachers.
Where can Salem-Keizer teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Salem-Keizer decides which courses count, under the rules on this page, so check with human resources before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, CE Credits Online, TLC Graduate Credits, Upward Teachers and VESi. They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Collective Bargaining Agreement 2025–2027 between Salem-Keizer Education Association and Salem-Keizer School District 24J, Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Checked
- Licensed Salary Schedules, Salem-Keizer Public Schools. Checked
- Renewal information, Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error