Staben appeals to JFAC to cover 3 percent employee compensation increase
University of Idaho President Chuck Staben proposed a plan to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee Monday that would halt tuition increases for undergraduate Idaho residents for the 2015-2016 academic year, should the Idaho Legislature fully fund a Change in Employee Compensation recommendation by Governor C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter.
George Wood Jr. | Argonaut
UI President Chuck Staben presents his budget proposal for the Joint Finance-Appropriation committee Monday morning. During his
presentation, Staben asked the committee to fully fund a 3 percent salary increase recommendation by Governor C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter.
This plan follows a recommendation by the governor to raise state employee salaries by 3 percent for FY2016.
If the state accepts Staben’s plan, it would be the first time in about two decades UI will not request a tuition increase for resident undergraduate students. Also, if the legislature chooses to approve Otter’s CEC recommendation, Staben said the state general fund will only cover about 50 percent of pay raises for UI staff and faculty.
“The other 50 percent … has to come from a dedicated fund, and that dedicated fund is tuition,” Staben said. “We’re asking the legislature to fully fund this ‘salary gap.’ If you do, our plan is to not raise resident undergraduate tuition this year.”
As an alternate to this increase in tuition, Staben asked the committee to consider a ‘fund shift,’ which entails payment of the salary gap through Idaho’s general fund. The salary gap not covered by the CEC recommendation is equal to about $1.6 million, according to Staben.
Should the legislature choose to fund the 3 percent CEC increase with the state general fund, but refuse the fund shift, Staben estimated tuition could increase by 4 to 4.5 percent for resident undergraduate students.
Staben said an increase in tuition due to Otter’s recommended salary increase is what UI has forecasted so far in its planning, and that an increase in student fees would be a separate issue.
Staben thanked Otter for his request to raise state employee salary by 3 percent and said the increase is “critical for recruiting and retaining the people who make our teaching, research and outreach excellent.”
According to Staben, UI faculty and staff make about 84 percent of the salaries of faculty and staff at peer institutions such as Washington State University and Montana State University.
“Our salaries are not competitive, and this puts us at risk of losing loyal employees,” Staben said.
Staben said salary competitiveness was his top priority going into the legislative session because UI is facing a turnover rate that is “extremely high for any institution.” Last year, UI faced an 18 percent turnover in staff, and a 14 percent turnover in faculty.
Following Staben’s presentation, JFAC Chair Representative Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said Staben had presented the committee with an interesting dilemma by asking for the committee to approve a $1.6 million fund shift.
“Should we start down the road of doing fund shifting for University of Idaho, than we will have community colleges asking for it, (and) other entities where we only provide a partial CEC, in their opinion,” Cameron said.
Staben also projected the tuition freeze following a fund shift may improve enrollment numbers for UI, which has seen a decline in recent years.
“I think that freezing undergraduate tuition would encourage families that the university is doing its part to help them access education and encourage them to enroll,” Staben said.
Additionally, Staben proposed for $1.5 million to fund the Agricultural Research and Extension Service, which he said would be an investment in Extension 4-H Youth Development, support graduate research assistantships, enhance grant proposal competitiveness and the success of UI’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Staben also placed focus on assisting students in finding jobs after graduation, with a recommendation to support Complete College Idaho — an initiative to support undergraduate adviser positions — and fund a Student Employment Readiness program that assists students in pursuing careers, research and internship opportunities.
“We as educators know that students who have a strong orientation to a career will be retained and graduate at a higher rate,” Staben said.
Staben also asked for $670,000 to support the WWAMI program, which is a collaboration with the University of Washington that secures seats in the medical school for students graduating from UI and other regional state institutions. Staben requested the continued funding of 2013 and 2014 slots, as well as five additional slots for 2015, bringing the total number of program slots to 35.
George Wood Jr. can be reached at [email protected]