What it does
Institutions define monthly stipend tiers, assign people to a tier with effective dating, and run stipend payroll per pay period. A preview mode shows exactly what would be paid before anything is applied. One-off adjustments (bonuses, corrections, deductions) attach to a person's assignment and flow into the payroll run.
Who it's for
Institution administrators maintain the tier catalog. Program administrators assign people to tiers, manage adjustments, and run payroll for their program. This area applies to programs that pay stipends through the platform; it is separate from time-off benefits.
How it works
Tiers. Each tier has a name, code, location, dependent count, monthly amount, and currency. Location and dependent count let you model rate tables where the stipend varies by duty location and family size.
Assignments. A person is assigned to a tier with an effective-from date and an optional end date. Rate changes are dated rather than overwritten. Each assignment carries a status (pending, active, suspended, or terminated). Every change records a reason — initial assignment, dependent change, location change, tier rate update, correction, or termination — building an auditable history per person.
Adjustments. One-off changes for a pay period attach to an assignment: retroactive credits from a back-dated tier change, corrections, prorations, bonuses, or deductions. They move through their own review states (pending, approved, applied, rejected, cancelled). The platform warns you when a new adjustment looks like a duplicate — same person, same type, similar amount, overlapping pay period.
Payroll runs. For a chosen pay period, you can first run a preview. It lists every assignment with its base amount, any proration, the adjustment total, and the final amount, without changing anything. When the numbers look right, run it for real. The platform records each execution with per-person results and any errors. The execution history is browsable by period.
Before you start
You need a program selected. Stipend tiers, assignments, and payroll runs are unavailable at institution-wide scope without one.
The people you plan to pay need an active stipend assignment for the pay period.
Do this
Open the payroll run page (
/admin/benefits/financial/run-payroll) for your program → you should see Run Stipend Payroll with a pay period selector.Select Preview payroll → the panel lists every assignment with its base amount, proration, adjustment total, and final amount, marked Preview Only.
Review the numbers in the panel. If something looks wrong, fix the assignment or adjustment, then select Preview payroll again → confirm the panel updates with the corrected amounts.
When the preview looks right, select Run payroll and confirm → the panel shows Applied, with per-person results and any errors.
You're done when
The run shows Applied, not Preview Only.
Each person's final amount matches what you expected, and any errors show per person instead of being hidden.
Boundaries and limits
Stipend tiers, stipend assignments, adjustments, and payroll runs all require a program to be selected. These sections are unavailable at institution-wide scope without one.
A preview changes nothing. No amounts are applied until a real run is executed.
Adjustments only affect the pay period they specify, and must carry a written reason.
The duplicate warning compares active (pending or approved) adjustments of the same type on the same assignment, with overlapping periods and amounts within roughly 10 percent. It warns rather than blocks.
Failed payments within a run are reported per person with the error. The run does not silently skip anyone.
Tier and execution listings are capped at 1,000 rows per query.
Common questions
Q: What's the difference between preview and run? A: Preview calculates and displays every amount without applying anything. Run applies the amounts and records the execution with per-person results.
Q: Someone's dependent count changed mid-year — how do we handle it? A: End the current assignment and create a new one effective from the change date, with "dependent count change" as the reason. For amounts already paid at the old rate, add a retroactive adjustment.
Q: Why am I warned about a duplicate adjustment? A: An existing pending or approved adjustment on the same assignment has the same type, an overlapping pay period, and a similar amount. Review it before saving to avoid paying twice.
Q: Can we see what was paid in a past period? A: Yes. The execution history lists runs by pay period with per-person amounts, statuses, and any errors.
GME programs
Applies to: gme. Differences from the base article only.
In GME programs the people on stipends are typically residents and fellows. The product UI labels this surface Stipend Assignments and refers to recipients as people — not "scholars." Program coordinators usually maintain assignments and adjustments for their program, while the institution's GME office owns the tier catalog.
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