INTRODUCTORY NOTE: Two biweekly paychecks does not correspond with a monthly paycheck because 4 weeks is not precisely a month. The 2 or 3 extra days in most months amount to about $70 – $100.
1. Take your monthly stipend amount and divide it by 30.5, the approximate number of days in a month. This gives your daily stipend amount. (E.g., a half-time TA at Level 1 should make at least $1332 a month, so $1332 / 30.5 = $43.67 per day.)
2. Take your daily stipend amount from step 1 and multiply it by 14, the number of days in a biweekly pay period. This gives your approximate biweekly stipend amount. (E.g., $43.67 * 14 = $611.38 per 2-week period.)
3. Compare your approximate biweekly stipend amount from step 2 with the gross amount listed on your biweekly pay stubs from epayroll.msu.edu — if there is a substantial difference between these two numbers, your pay may be at the wrong level or appointment fraction (or payroll has simply made a mistake). Contact the GEU at geu@msu.edu.
CONCLUDING NOTE: On the biweekly schedule, you will be paid slightly less each calendar month than in the past… until December, when you will receive 3 pay checks within one calendar month (and so more than in the past). Furthermore, there is one week of December for which you will not be paid until January. When all is said and done (i.e., in the middle of January), you should have received the same total pay for the semester as you would have with monthly checks. And in fact, you will have received your money more promptly than before (because you get it throughout the month instead of having to wait entire months at a time).
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Alternative Algorithm: biweekly pay converted into monthly
1. Take your gross biweekly pay and divide it by 14.
2. Multiply your daily pay (the result of step 1) by 30.5. This is your approximate monthly stipend level.
3. Compare with the contract minimums or with your expected monthly stipend level in your department.
