UW Trustees to Meet Monday to Talk Salaries, Tuition

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting via conference call from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, March 10, to discuss matters in preparation for its regular board meeting in late March.

No action will be taken by the board during the meeting. Those wishing to attend may do so in the Old Main Board Room at UW.

Specific topics of discussion on the agenda are: an update on actions by the Legislature and the governor; a policy for distributing funding for UW employee pay raises approved by lawmakers and the governor; tuition and fees, including the UW fee book for the 2014-15 academic year; and preparation for budget discussions.

The state budget bill signed by Gov. Matt Mead on Wednesday appropriated a total of $12.5 million in ongoing dollars for UW employee pay raises over the next two years, the first such increase since 2009. That equates to an overall 2.35 percent increase in the 2014-15 fiscal year and a 2.35 percent rise in the 2015-16 fiscal year -- though mandatory increases in employee contributions to the state retirement system will reduce the actual average pay raise for UW employees to about 2 percent each of those years.

The Board of Trustees on Monday will discuss details of a salary increase distribution policy, with guidelines including consideration of employees’ performance reviews and individual salary market comparators. Action on such a policy is expected to take place at the trustees’ regular meeting March 27-28.

Also, during the March 27-28 meeting, the board is expected to set student tuition and fees for the 2014-15 academic year and, possibly, for subsequent years. Discussion during Monday’s meeting is intended to prepare for that decision.

UW President Dick McGinity says that while legislative appropriations will meet some of the university’s needs, lawmakers clearly communicated the expectation that UW must find additional resources to address other priorities, including modest tuition increases. Monday’s discussion may include the potential magnitude of an increase in tuition and fees, along with possible uses of increased tuition revenue.