MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Non-classified Faculty Equivalent/Academic Professional employees on WVU campuses in Morgantown, Beckley and Kesyer received notification that a provision will be added to Notice of Appointment letters allowing for salary reduction or furlough due to budget concerns during the 2020-21 school year.
The portion of the letter from Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop is below:
As a non-classified or FE/AP staff employee, the following statement will be included in the Notice of Appointment letter you receive in the coming weeks:
During the term of this appointment, the University reserves the right to temporarily adjust or reduce your salary or to require you to take unpaid furlough days. The University shall only exercise these rights if budgetary conditions of the University require it. Further, you will be provided at least 30 days’ notice prior to the University exercising any of these rights.
The letter summarizes cost cutting measures taken to date and cites “the loss of several revenue streams.” Alsop says university leadership has planned for several scenarios and are hopeful further budget cuts will not be needed.
“We indicated that if we don’t hit our revenue projections we may have to talk about or take action relating to unpaid furlough days or reducing salary,”Alsop said on WAJR’s Talk of the Town,”It’s not something that we are intending to do at the moment.”
Beginning May 24, the university furloughed about 900 workers that saved an estimated $4 million. At the same time, senior leadership also took pay cuts. Some of those furloughed workers are beginning to return to prepare for the fall semester.
During the May cuts, WVU Athletic Director Shane Lyons ordered a 5 percent pay cut for coaches and athletic staff making more than $100,000 and a 2.5% reduction for staff making less than $100,000. A total of 65 athletic-oriented employees were furloughed, some of those workers will not return and open positions will not be filled.
Alsop says as the fall semester unfolds more revenue data will be available to university leadership make any decisions regarding potential cuts.
“When we get to the end of August, mid-August we’ll see how those numbers play out we’ll be able to sit down and reevaluate it going forward,”Alsop said,”We expect, at this time we’ll make the decision collectively as a university as to how we will implement these things.”
Alsop says the decision to make any operating or staff cuts depends on many factors because many scenarios have been considered.
“There’s not a bright line of, if enrollment declines by 1,000 students or if state appropriations go down by “x” amount,”Alsop said,”It’s really going to be looking at a variety of factors then making the determination of how much we need to do.”
“We gave this notice out of an abundance of caution so our employees could plan and we could be transparent,”Alsop said,”We hope to avoid this, The last resort is to impact someones actual take home pay or someone’s finances.”
The full letter is here:
While West Virginia University is looking forward to safely returning to our campuses in Morgantown, Beckley and Keyser this fall, we also fully recognize the many challenges we may face in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As we shared with you in a Campus Conversation earlier this spring, COVID-19 has resulted in the loss of several revenue streams at the University during the past several months, which has significantly impacted our budget.
And while the University has enacted several measures to address our current financial situation (e.g., limiting travel and other expenses, delaying or suspending capital projects and WVU’s temporary furlough* program), the reality remains that we still are facing many budgetary uncertainties as we look towards the fall 2020 and spring 2021 semesters.
We continue to plan for several revenue scenarios for the coming months related to enrollment and state appropriations. And we will continue to operate as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible throughout the current crisis. However, the University also has decided to amend this year’s annual Notice of Appointment letters for all faculty, faculty equivalent academic professional (FE/AP), and non-classified staff in case additional personnel measures become necessary in response to COVID-19.
As a non-classified or FE/AP staff employee, the following statement will be included in the Notice of Appointment letter you receive in the coming weeks:
During the term of this appointment, the University reserves the right to temporarily adjust or reduce your salary or to require you to take unpaid furlough days. The University shall only exercise these rights if budgetary conditions of the University require it. Further, you will be provided at least 30 days’ notice prior to the University exercising any of these rights.
WVU remains hopeful further personnel actions to address our current budgetary situation will not be necessary. However, if additional measures are required, I can assure you we will continue to be transparent and engage our entire campus community throughout the process.
We appreciate your continued commitment to WVU as we work together to address the many challenges of these uncertain times.
Sincerely,
Rob Alsop
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
WVU officials also released the following statement:
There are no current plans for further furloughs, or other staff reduction or pay cuts. However at this time of year, employees get their annual renewal notice, and because – as we said when we originally announced the furloughs back in May – much depended on the University’s financial picture as the fall semester rolled around. That has not changed, but because we can’t be sure it won’t, that language has been added to notice of appointment letters for faculty and non-classified staff. A similar notice was sent to classified employees; however, classified employees do not receive annual notice of appointment letters.