Meeting today (Aug. 22) via conference call, West Virginia Universitys Board of Governors authorized an adjustment in the salary increase programs for its employees, effective Oct. 1.

Under the plan, WVU will create a 4.2 percent salary increase pool for classified staff and a 4 percent pool for faculty and non-classified employees. Employees at all WVU campuses including Health Sciences and Potomac State College, WVU at Parkersburg, WVU Institute of Technology and the Community and Technical College at WVUIT will be eligible for raises under this plan.

This is in an increase of 1.2 percent and 1 percent respectively from the 3 percent salary increase pool approved by the BOG in June.

Based on the increase in the marginal revenue from growth in enrollment at WVU , Potomac State and WVU Parkersburg, and because of the critical needs and market considerations at WVU Tech and the Community and Technical College at Tech, were recommending this adjustment,said WVU Provost Gerald Lang.

The salary increase plan for classified employees has 3 components:

• All classified employees will receive 20.54 percent of the difference between their current salary and the classified staff salary schedule.

• Those receiving less than $1,000 will receive additional funds to bring their total to $1,000, unless that amount exceeds their placement on the classified staff salary schedule. Sixty-seven percent of WVU classified staff will benefit from this provision, Lang noted.

• In addition, those making less than $20,000 per year will receive an additional amount up to $500 but not to exceed their placement on the salary schedule. This adjustment provides for a minimum of up to $1,500 for those making less than $20,000 per year and who are below their placement on the salary schedule.

For faculty and non-classified staff, the 4 percent distribution is fully merit based.

Lang said the adjustment takes into consideration the increasing cost of living.

Everything from gasoline to heating expenses to health insurance premiums for employees has increased,Lang noted.Because of our strong enrollment trends, the growth in marginal revenues will be such that we can adjust the salary increase pools upward this year.

The adjustment was met with the approval of Paul Martinelli, classified staff representative to the WVU Board of Governors and the Advisory Council of Classified Employees.

Im extremely pleased that the BOG and the administration have recognized the importance of salary increases to classified staff, especially those employees on the lower end of the salary schedule,he said.

WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. recently communicated to the state Higher Education Policy Commission that WVU s highest budget priority is to increase faculty and staff salaries.

If the University is to retain and recruit a world class workforce, we must increase our salaries to be competitive on a regional, national and international level,Hardesty said.

WVU has provided a salary increase to its employees in all but one of the past 11 years.

Employees with questions related to salary increase calculations can contact the Classification and Compensation Unit, WVU Department of Human Resources, 304-293-5700, ext. 6. An online salary increase calculator will be posted prior to Oct. 1.