KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Western Michigan University has reached an agreement with its Professors union and approved their budget for the new school year.
They have also released enrollment figures for the fall.
In fact the Board of Trustees had put off approval of the budget, which normally takes place during the summer, until they knew what impact enrollment and the Professors contract were going to have on spending and income.
AAUP Chief Negotiator Dr. Cynthia Klekar-Cunningham says they will get 2% hikes in each of the first two years of the contract and 2-1/2% in the third year. They also for the first time, will get paid parental leave. She believes they may be one of the first, if not the first state agency to earn that benefit.
Western Michigan University has attracted more Freshman this year, and more out of state students by dropping their tuition rates, they even managed to avoid a drop in international students despite the Trump administration’s immigration policies, but over all enrollment dropped by 1.5%.
President Ed Montgomery says more students dropped out before graduation than they could replace with new students.
He says he plans to make addressing that problem a priority.
The competition for students is only expected to get keener as demographers say there are fewer young people in the pipeline, going to grade schools and high schools headed toward college.
WMU Budget Director Jan Van der Kley says the $410-million dollar budget approved unanimously represents an increase in spending of just over 3%. Most of that goes out in salaries.
