Executive News
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06/22/2017
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2017 Salary Increases and Other University Updates
Thank you for the role you play in helping us meet our goals – whether holding tuition increases to record lows, moving forward on strategic priorities, or working to achieve excellence in all the University does.
I have news on the above, and on the next fiscal year budget including employee pay increases, to share with you from today’s annual meeting of the Board of Trustees.
3 Percent Salary Increase Pools
I’m pleased to announce salary increases have been approved system-wide to reward exceptional performance and move overall compensation closer to market levels. Thanks to the support of our elected officials during this year’s appropriations process and our institutional commitment to fair and competitive pay, each campus and institute will have a 3 percent pool for awarding increases to eligible employees. You will hear more about these plans from your chancellor or institute leader in the coming days and weeks.
1.8 Percent Record-Low Tuition Increase
We continue to lead the country in efforts to hold down tuition and also are working to keep fee increases as low as possible. Today’s vote by our board marks the third year in a row tuition increases have been below 3 percent—a first since the UT System was established in 1968. At a time when stories of high student debt make headlines, 44 percent of UT undergraduates finish with a bachelor’s degree and without debt. I hope you’ll take a few seconds to watch and share the
short video we’ve created about the value of a UT education.
Budget Planning for Long-Term Funding Sustainability
Thanks to our commitment to being good stewards of our resources, our efforts to control costs and better-than-expected increases in state appropriations, our projected funding gap for 2025 has declined from $377 million to $122 million. We will continue to refine projections as the model evolves and new financial information becomes available. While this is great news, our work is not done. Our growth and ability to address critical strategic initiatives across the System depends on our ability to be more efficient and effective in administrative operations and in the delivery of instruction, research and public service. Information about the goals set by our Budget Advisory Group for 2017-2019 is available
online .
2018 to 2020 Strategic Planning Efforts
We established a new vision and course for the UT System in 2012 and are working to update the plan for 2018 to 2020. I encourage your participation in this process and invite you to follow our progress at
tennessee.edu/strategicplan .
You can read a full summary of the board meeting and view an archived webcast
here .
Thank you for all you do for the University. I’m proud to serve as president of this great institution and to work alongside you to achieve our goals.
All the best,
Joe
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