Short answer
How do Alpine teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Alpine pays on nine lanes, from Lane 1 (bachelor's) to Lane 9 (doctorate). Lanes 2 to 5 need 20, 37, 50 and 70 credits past a bachelor's; Lanes 7 and 8 need 20 and 37 past a master's. Apply by the 10th of the month, September through May; an approved change pays that month, prorated.
Source: Teacher Salary Schedule, Fiscal Year 2026-27 and the Lanes instructions, Alpine School District Human Resources. Checked .
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How is the Alpine teacher salary schedule organized?
Alpine's 2026-27 Teacher Salary Schedule gives each lane its own page. The lane names, as the district writes them:
| Lane | Education | Credits added for this lane | Printed steps reach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B.S. degree | None | 12 |
| 2 | B.S. + 20 semester hours | 20 | 12 |
| 3 | B.S. + 37 | 17 | 18 |
| 4 | B.S. + 50 | 13 | 24 |
| 5 | B.S. + 70 | 20 | 30 |
| 6 | M.S. | Degree | 30 |
| 7 | M.S. + 20 | 20 | 30 |
| 8 | M.S. + 37 | 17 | 30 |
| 9 | Doctorate | Degree | 30 |
Every lane prints steps 1 through 12; above that, the schedule prints only selected steps (15, 18, 21, 24, 27 and 30), and how high a lane reaches depends on its education level. Moving from Lane 2 to Lane 3 therefore opens steps that Lane 2 never prints.
Each lane page also splits into five sub-columns by assignment. The base column assumes 7 hours a day for 185 days. Column A, for elementary K-6 teachers, and Column B, for secondary teachers with six periods (media included), both assume 8 hours and pay a set percentage above base. Columns C and D add an extra class for one or two semesters. Every row shows an index figure, base pay, the Educator Salary Adjustment (HB215) and a total. For 2026-27, the base rose 0.5% and the adjustment 3%; the adjustment depends on continued state funding. Our guide to reading a salary schedule explains index-based grids.
Step placement reflects experience, normally one step per year. Teachers new to Alpine who have not retired from an education career receive year-for-year credit for outside experience up to step 10. Your current lane and step appear in the Employee Service Portal under Payroll, then Salary Compensation.
Which units count toward an Alpine column change?
Alpine's per-lane instruction sheets share a baseline: only credits earned after both your original Professional teaching certificate and your bachelor's degree count, they must come from an accredited institution of higher learning, and they must be "complementary to and in support of" your major teaching assignment or career-enhancing. A Pass is accepted in place of a letter grade. Coursework has to be finished before it is claimed.
The mix of credit types differs by lane:
- Lanes 2 and 7 (+20): at least 10 of the 20 credits from a university.
- Lanes 3 and 8 (+37): at least 8.5 of the 17 credits from a university.
- Lanes 4 and 5 (+50 and +70): university credit only, 13 and 20 credits.
Non-university credit means USBE (formerly USOE) credit shown on your MIDAS transcript, or Continuing Education credit at 15 hours per credit. It is capped by school year, July 1 to June 30: 3.33 credits a year before July 1, 2019, 5 a year after that date, and 10 a year from July 1, 2026. The board approved the higher limit on May 19, 2026, when it revised Section 1.3.1 of Policy 4191, Salary Lane Changes; minutes record that the change has no end date. Relicensure points never count.
The master's lanes add two conditions. You need a valid Professional certificate and a master's from an accredited university, and the credits must be taken after or alongside the master's; courses taken during the degree must come from a different university. Extra credits carry forward from Lane 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and 7 to 8, but not out of Lane 5, the top lane without a master's, and not past the master's itself. Our article on a master's versus stacked credits weighs the two paths.
A worked example: a Lane 1 teacher earns 12 university credits and logs 10 USBE credits during 2026-27. Twenty count toward Lane 2, the university share clears the 10-credit floor, and the remaining 2 carry into the 17 needed for Lane 3. Alpine publishes no approved or excluded provider list; the test is accreditation.
Does Alpine require approval before you take a course?
No advance approval step appears in Alpine's lane materials. Review happens once you apply: the Lane Change Application goes to the Human Resource Office with official verification, and a Human Resource Specialist – Certified checks it. The application asks for your current lane, your assignment and the date of your original teaching certificate, then lists every course on the back, with university and non-university credit in separate columns and semester or quarter credit marked.
Because the relevance test is applied at that point, it is worth asking Human Resources before enrolling if a course sits outside your teaching field. Questions about whether a course in the district's Professional Development catalog carries USBE credit go to the district's professional learning staff. Our article will my district accept it? lists what to ask.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
The cutoff is the 10th of the month, and the window named is September through May. An application approved under that deadline takes effect in the paycheck for the month you submitted, with the raise prorated over the contract days left in the school year. Each sheet asks teachers to apply once they qualify, not before.
Official transcripts can be sent electronically by the university straight to the Human Resource Office, or mailed to you and handed in sealed with the application. For a new master's, the district will act on a dean's letter of completion naming the degree and date, followed by the transcript once the degree posts. MIDAS transcripts cover USBE credit; CE credit needs certificates showing hours.
Do the same units count toward Utah license renewal?
The same course can, but not the same record. A USBE Professional Educator License lasts five school years, ending June 30 of the last one, and can be renewed from that January 1. Rule R277-302 asks for 100 or more documented renewal hours, each equal to a clock hour, only from teachers not employed in a Utah school for the full five years. Alpine will not accept relicensure points for a lane, so taking a course for USBE or university credit is what lets it count twice. More in our Utah state guide and its renewal section.
Where can Alpine teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Alpine 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 Alpine's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What Alpine says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Alpine: Accredited university, USBE or CE credit; non-university capped at 10 a year | 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 | Alpine: The 10th of the month; September through May | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Alpine: None described; relevance checked when you apply | 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)
- PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Teaching Channel: self-paced, units through a choice of eight universities; $489 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)
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 Alpine has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Alpine salary questions teachers ask
How many USBE credits can I use for an Alpine lane change each year?
Up to 10 non-university credits per school year from July 1, 2026, and only on Lanes 2, 3, 7 and 8. The earlier limits were 5 a year from July 1, 2019 and 3.33 before that.
What is the Alpine lane change deadline?
The 10th of the month, September through May. An approved change pays in that month's check, prorated for the contract days remaining.
Do relicensure points count toward an Alpine lane?
No. Alpine's lane instructions say only USBE/USOE credits count; relicensure points do not.
Can I apply for Alpine's Master's lane before my degree posts?
Yes, with a letter from the dean stating the degree name and completion date. An official transcript must follow once the degree posts.
Where can Alpine teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Alpine 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, PD Courses (University of La Verne), Teaching Channel, TLC Graduate Credits and Upward Teachers. 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
- Alpine School District Teacher Salary Schedule, Fiscal Year 2026-27, linked as Certified Salary Schedule 2026-2027 from the district's Human Resources page. Checked
- Lanes, Alpine School District Human Resources. Checked
- Bachelor's +20 (Lane 2) instructions, Alpine School District; the sheets for Lanes 3 to 8 are linked from the same Lanes page. Checked
- Master's (Lane 6) instructions, Alpine School District. Checked
- Lane Change Application, Alpine School District. Checked
- Minutes of the Board of Education, May 19, 2026, Alpine School District, item on Policy 4191. Checked
- Renew an Educator License, Utah State Board of Education. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error