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Board of Governors OKs annual budget along with pay raise for employees

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The Marshall University Board of Governors today approved the operating budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.

The $306 million budget is a $4 million increase over last year’s budget and includes a 4% pay raise for faculty and staff, effective July 6 for 12-month employees and in August for nine-month employees.

“I am pleased we are able to provide our faculty and staff with this increase,” said Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert. “The state allocated a portion of the funding needed for pay raises and we were able to identify additional resources to make the increase happen for our employees.”

Michael McGuffey, senior vice president for information technology, institutional research and planning, added that more than 1,400 university employees are expected to receive the increase.

“President Gilbert has made faculty and staff salaries a priority since coming to Marshall, and the Board of Governors has approved three salary increases totaling more than nine percent for our regular full-time employees since February of last year,” McGuffey said. “Those increases are in addition to an action this past November that gave additional increases to many of our classified employees to raise their salaries to new minimum levels for their positions.”

The budget takes into account revenue from a 3.5% increase in tuition and fees for students, which was approved by the board in a special session earlier this month.

In other action today, the board approved the Master of Medical Science, Physician Assistant Degree Program, which will be administered by the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. Pending a successful site visit by the accrediting body next spring, the physician assistant program will begin its first class in January 2021. Board members also approved intents-to-plan for two programs in the Lewis College of Business—a Doctor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in General Business.

The board OK’d a revised university mission statement, five degree program name changes and nearly two dozen revised board policies, pending a public comment period.  In the coming days, the revised board policies will be available here for review.

Additionally, the board approved the results and recommendations of the university’s academic program review, including the continuation of 10 undergraduate degree programs, nine graduate degree programs and four graduate certificates.