UW System regents to vote on 2% raise for employees, increase in out-of-state, graduate tuition

MADISON -- University of Wisconsin System regents are set to vote on giving system employees a two percent raise in each of the next two fiscal years.

System officials told the regents in a memo that other public universities have been steadily increasing compensation at the rate of inflation or better annually, creating a pay gap with UW workers. According to the memo, UW-Madison faculty trailed peers salaries by 18 percent in fiscal year 2014-15 as adjusted for geographic cost of living differences.

The increases would be paid for through the state's compensation reserve, a pot of money set aside in each state budget to cover unforeseen increases and salary and benefit costs.

The regents are scheduled to vote on the increases at a meeting Thursday, December 8th.

Regent approval would send the proposal on to the Legislature's employment relations committee, which would have the final say on whether the raises would go into effect.

 

Regents will also vote on a plan that would raise out-of-state and graduate tuition by hundreds of dollars at six four-year campuses and all the system's two-year schools. The largest increase would come at UW-Madison, which has proposed raising nonresident undergraduate tuition by $2,000 in each of the next two years and raising tuition for some graduate programs by as much as $5,000 annually.

The regents in 2015 approved raising nonresident and graduate tuition at eight four-year campuses and this past spring signed off on raising nonresident and graduate tuition at five schools.