Short answer
How do Granite teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Granite pays on seven lanes, A through G. Lanes B and C sit 20 and 40 semester hours past a bachelor's; Lanes E and F sit 20 and 40 past a master's; Lane G is the doctorate. One semester credit equals one lane-change credit, and approved outside trainings convert at 18 hours per credit.
Source: the 2026-27 Teacher Salary Schedule and How Do I Obtain Credits for a Lane Change?, Granite School District Human Resources. Checked .
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How is the Granite teacher salary schedule organized?
The 2026-27 Teacher Salary Schedule, labeled schedule 20, is built on a nine-month base contract of 189 days. Its lanes run left to right in the district's own wording:
- Lane A: bachelor's degree
- Lane B: bachelor's degree + 20 semester hours
- Lane C: bachelor's degree + 40 semester hours
- Lane D: master's degree
- Lane E: master's degree + 20 semester hours
- Lane F: master's degree + 40 semester hours
- Lane G: doctorate
Steps for experience run down the side. The printed rows start at step 6, and each lane stops at a different height: Lane A at step 12, Lane B at 13, Lane C at 14, Lane D at 15, Lane E at 16, and Lanes F and G at 17. Rows 18 and 19 are empty, and all seven lanes have a step 20 row. A lane change therefore does two things at once: it raises the figure at your current step and lengthens the ladder above you.
Every cell splits into base pay, the Educator Salary Adjustment and an annual total. The footnotes say the legislative adjustment depends on state appropriation, that the schedule includes Teacher and Student Success Act funding and pay for two nighttime school or community activities, and that contracts longer than 189 days pay the extra days at the daily rate for the teacher's approved lane and step. Title I and National Board stipends are listed separately at the bottom. New to grids like this? See how to read a salary schedule.
Board Policy IX.A.3.d, Salary Levels and Stipends, sends the details to bargaining: both the teacher schedule and each teacher's placement on it are set by the Professional Agreement between the Board of Education and the Granite Education Association.
Which units count toward a Granite column change?
Human Resources publishes a one-page handout, How Do I Obtain Credits for a Lane Change?, that lists three sources of lane credit:
- University credit. Courses from a regionally accredited university, proven with official transcripts sent to Human Resources. Each semester credit is one lane-change credit. Religious courses are the stated exception and do not count.
- USBE credit. Hours that appear as USBE Credit on your MIDAS transcript. The handout says most hours carrying that label are counted. Classes through the Utah Education Network can be taken for either USBE credit or university credit.
- Prior approval credit. Trainings, district courses, conferences and online courses that Granite approves in advance, converted at 18 hours for one credit.
Two categories are shut out. Relicensure hours count toward the license only, and historical district credit is not counted for a lane change at all. The handout calls USBE or university credit the best option, since those count for relicensure and for lane advancement.
Conversions follow simple arithmetic. The prior-approval rule rounds down, so a 54-hour summer institute is worth 3 credits while a 50-hour one is worth 2. For quarter-system transcripts, the salary schedule itself states that 20 semester hours equal 30 quarter hours, which means 30 quarter hours cover the gap between Lane A and Lane B. Our article on quarter versus semester units explains the 1.5 ratio.
The handouts test accreditation, not course level or subject, and publish no approved or excluded provider list. The Professional Agreement that governs placement is not posted on the district site, so ask Human Resources about unusual coursework before you enroll.
Does Granite require approval before you take a course?
Only for the third route. The Prior Approval Application says plainly that it is for Granite district lane change credit and should not be used for USOE or university credit. A course you can register for through MIDAS is also ineligible, because it already carries state credit. For anything else, the What Is Prior Approval? sheet and the form set this order:
- At least two weeks before the activity, fill out the Prior Approval Application: the type of training, the sponsor, the dates and times, and how it relates to your current assignment.
- Send the form with the agenda or itinerary to the Teacher Onboarding & Instructional Coaching Department.
- Wait for the decision. Approved requests are answered by e-mail and then forwarded to Human Resources.
- After the activity, turn in a one-page written summary of what you did, the certificate of completion and the processing fee charged for each prior approval.
The approval has a shelf life. You have one year from the approval date to turn in that paperwork; after that the approval is void. Our guide to pre-approval forms covers what reviewers usually look for in the relevance line.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
Granite's Human Resources pages do not post a monthly cutoff or an effective date for a new lane. The current process runs through a Canvas course built by Human Resources, which you enroll in from the Lane Change page when you are ready to file; the page asks teachers to contact Human Resources with questions before enrolling.
What the district does publish concerns the paperwork itself. Official transcripts must come from an accredited college directly, by one of three routes:
- by US Mail to Granite Human Resources;
- as an electronic official transcript that the university or a clearinghouse sends straight to the Human Resources lane change inbox;
- on official transcript paper mailed to you and dropped off at the Human Resources office in person.
With no published cutoff, the safe habit is to order the transcript the week grades post and work through the Canvas steps right away, then ask Human Resources which paycheck will show the new lane.
Do the same units count toward Utah license renewal?
Some do, and Granite draws the line in writing. The Utah State Board of Education issues the Professional Educator License for five school years, valid through June 30 of the final year, and opens renewal on January 1 of that year. Under Rule R277-302, an educator who has not worked in a Utah school for all five years must document at least 100 renewal hours, one hour per clock hour. Relicensure hours satisfy that and nothing more in Granite; USBE or university credit can count twice. Read our note on renewal versus salary credit, the Utah renewal rules and the full Utah state guide.
Where can Granite teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Granite 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 Granite's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
| Question | What Granite says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Granite: Semester credits, one for one; accredited university, USBE or prior approval | 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 | Granite: None posted; prior approval paperwork within 1 year | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Granite: Outside trainings only; 2 weeks ahead; 18 hours = 1 credit | 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)
- Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee 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 Granite has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Granite salary questions teachers ask
Can Granite relicensure hours move me to a new lane?
No. Granite's credit handout says relicensure hours count for relicensure only. Hours labeled USBE Credit in MIDAS, and university credit, can count for both.
How many training hours make one Granite lane-change credit?
Eighteen, for activities approved in advance. Hours round down, so 35 hours earn one credit, not two.
Does Granite accept quarter units for a lane change?
Yes. The 2026-27 schedule states that 20 semester hours equal 30 quarter hours.
How early do I need Granite prior approval?
At least two weeks before the training, with the agenda attached. University courses and classes you can register for in MIDAS do not go through prior approval.
Where can Granite teachers take graduate-level courses for salary credit or renewal?
Granite 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, Connected Classroom Courses, 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
- 2026-27 Teacher Salary Schedule (20), Nine-Month Base Contract (189 Days), Granite School District, linked from the district's Salary Schedules page. Checked
- Lane Change, Granite School District Human Resources. Checked
- How Do I Obtain Credits for a Lane Change?, Granite School District Human Resources. Checked
- What Is Prior Approval?, Granite School District. Checked
- Prior Approval Application, Granite School District. Checked
- University Transcripts, Granite School District Human Resources. Checked
- Policy IX.A.3.d, Salary Levels and Stipends, Granite School District, revised October 2023. Checked
- Renew an Educator License, Utah State Board of Education. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error