Eligible faculty and staff to receive 2% compensation increase, pending higher education budget approval

Eligible University of Idaho employees will receive a 2% increase in employee compensation for the next fiscal year, upon the passage of higher education budgets in the Legislature, according to an email from President Scott Green on Monday. 

Faculty and staff hired before Dec. 31 and who received a rating of “meets expectations” or higher on their 2020 annual performance evaluation are eligible for the increase, Green stated.

Proposed by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, the Change in Employee Compensation creates “challenges for public colleges and universities,” according to Green. While state funds pay for nearly half of public higher education costs, the rest is a mix of federal funding and local dollars.  

“As is the case every year, the Legislature expects us to provide funding for the other half of the CEC increase, which most often comes from tuition increases,” Green stated. “But, for the second year in a row, UI will hold resident undergraduate tuition flat.”

In 1980, tuition and fees made up 7% of college and university funding, according to data from the Idaho State Board of Education. Less than four decades later, that number climbed to 46%. State funding, which once accounted for 93% of higher education costs, dropped to 54% over the same period, the ISBE stated.

The state Legislature approved a 2% CEC increase last year, but only half the funding needed for the increase was provided, according to Green. 

“Because we did not increase tuition rates last year, the 2% approved increase became a 1%

funded increase,” Green stated in the email. “Even the 1% CEC increase was not awarded because the state feared additional tax revenue impacts from COVID-19.”

The university will combine last year’s 1% increase with this year’s 1% increase to offer eligible faculty and staff a 2% increase in compensation. 

“The work you have done in the past year has made a difference to our students, our university and our state,” Green stated. “Thank you for your dedication and service.”

Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermotweets