STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Faculty and staff at Oklahoma State University will have to wait for their promised merit-based pay raises after low enrollment numbers resulted in a budget shortfall.
University officials announced Monday that the school will need to postpone the 2.5 percent performance-based pay raise, which was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, the Oklahoman reported.
A nearly 2 percent drop in enrollment has cost the university roughly $5 million in tuition and fees, said Joe Weaver, the university’s senior vice president of administration and finance.
Graduation rates among fourth- and fifth-year seniors also rose more quickly than university officials expected, Weaver said.
“The administration is not sad that graduation rates are improving. It’s a good thing,” he said. “But the flip side is it did result in a budget (shortfall).”
The university announced the pay raise program in June as part of a multi-year initiative to help align faculty and staff compensation with regional averages, according to Weaver.
University officials remain hopeful the school can implement the pay raise program for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, he said.
Oklahoma State also plans to support “the effort announced by the State Regents to seek a $37.8 million appropriation from the legislature in the upcoming session for salary increases,” he said. “This is a really important priority to us and we want to get faculty and staff in line with other universities that we compete with.”
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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
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