WCU continues to struggle with inflation, retention issues

Legislative raises hit WCU paychecks

University continues to struggle with inflation, retention issues

BY HOLLY KAYS STAFF WRITER

Faculty and staff at Western Carolina University have been seeing higher paychecks since July following the N.C. General Assembly’s passage of a budget that includes an across-the-board raise of 3.5%. Coupled with the 2.5% raise included in the previous budget enacted Nov. 18, 2021, that’s a 6% increase in less than a year.

“This marks the largest legislative increase we’ve seen in faculty and staff pay in the past two decades,” Chancellor Kelli Brown said at the Sept. 2 Board of Trustees meeting.

It’s a big step forward in the right direction — but it’s not enough to fix the problem.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator, inflation soared 8% between August 2021 and 2022, and anyone who has tried to buy or rent in Cullowhee lately knows that housing has become increasingly unaffordable.

“I am committed to continuing to advocate for additional resources to make headway against the inflationary pressures that continue to impact our workforce,” Brown said.

Not only do the recent legislative raises fall short of fully answering current inflationary pressures, they do nothing to address the declining buying power of a WCU salary that had been building for a decade prior to the pandemic. Between 2010 and 2019, inflation-adjusted salaries at WCU reached below negative 8%, according to a 2021 analysis by WCU business professor Sean Mulholland.

However, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Payroll Corey Causby said during a Sept. 1 Academic Affairs and Personnel Committee meeting, WCU is doing all it can to maximize gains to its employees. The university was the only UNC institution that processed the most recent raises in time to include them in the July paycheck, with staff working weekends to make it happen. And in addition to the 6% raise from the state budget, WCU has spent $2.1 million to address salaries, retention and pay compression for its faculty and staff.

The legislature has also allocated another 1% increase in state-appropriated salary funding — about $780,000 — as a labor market adjustment reserve to further address those issues.

“I’m currently working with our leadership and executive council to identify exactly how to use that most effectively to touch the most people and address the most critical issues, and we’re hoping to implement that this fall,” Causby said. “It will be probably October at this point.”

Higher salaries have been a perennial request from WCU employees for years now, but data indicate that failing to meet the need could have dire consequences for the university’s workforce. Over the past year, the university has seen faculty and staff leaving their posts at staggering rates.

Between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, WCU recorded 202 voluntary turnovers, the term used when an employee leaves because they want to, not because they’ve been fired or reached retirement. That’s more than double the previous four-year average of 100.5 voluntary turnovers, and way beyond the high point of 117 during that time. Other UNC schools have seen similar trends.

“There’s no other way to look at that other than to say that the numbers are significant and something we’ll have to continue to watch closely,” Causby said.

WCU’s annual employee satisfaction survey continually returns stellar results, Causby said. The most recent survey put WCU toward the top of the UNC system in employee satisfaction, with the score increasing from 2020. In exit interviews more than 75% of departing employees say salary issues influenced their decision to leave, Causby said.

“What the Great Resignation has done at the macro level is it’s created a tremendous amount of opportunity to move throughout higher education that normally doesn’t exist and in some fields doesn’t exist at all,” said Provost Richard Starnes. “The number of faculty we’ve had who left in the past year who have gone on to R1 jobs is really staggering.”

However, the light at the end of the tunnel may be coming into view, Causby said. Turnover numbers for July and August came in closer to the normal prior to the 2021-22 fiscal year.

“We’re hopeful that trend will continue,” he said.

The fiscal year that ended July 30 saw unprecedented numbers of employees leaving for other jobs. WCU graphic

County funding will allow AWAKE Children’s Advocacy Center to finish vital repairs to its current

With county funding, AWAKE will complete building repairs

HANNAH MCLEOD STAFF WRITER

The Jackson County Commission allocated just over $60,000 of American Rescue Plan funds to AWAKE Children’s Advocacy Center for the organization to finish renovation of its current building.

“We know the great work that you do in our community and what a great service this is for our children,” said County Commission Chairman Brian McMahan. “We wish no child would have to come to you, but we know what the reality is and making sure that we have these facilities and services is very, very important.”

AWAKE — Adults Working and Advocating for Kids’ Empowerment — is a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on advocating for victims of child abuse and coordinating services for those victims. Executive Director Crystal Jones came before the county commission at its Sept. 6 regular meeting to make the request for funding.

“We are the only child advocacy center in Jackson County,” said Jones. “Our services are not duplicative.”

The building that AWAKE uses was recently gifted to the organization by its landlord, Phil Haire.

“We were incredibly blessed, we were very, very thankful for this,” said Jones. “We celebrate him for sure.”

Even with a permanent home in hand, AWAKE had to take into consideration all the repairs necessary to safely serve children in the building. The heating and cooling system wasn’t working properly, leaving employees freezing in the winter months and sweltering during summer. The building also needed a new roof, siding, doors, windows, insulation for the upper floors, a covered walkway and F

building. AWAKE photo

increased security.

“Security is a huge priority of ours,” said Jones. “Sometimes we make people mad, and we want to make sure that who we’re letting in is not an alleged perpetrator, so we screen our clients that come into our building. Not only that, but COVID as well, we want to make sure everyone is safe.”

Under normal circumstances, AWAKE likely would have been able to pay for the improvements to the building. However, last year two of AWAKE’s major operational funding sources, the Victims Of Crime Act and Department of Health and Human Services, weren’t allocating funding as usual. This wasn’t resolved until the VOCA Fix Act was signed in late 2021.

“We’re still not seeing those monies be recuperated. Specifically, many [child advocacy centers] across the state took a 67% decrease in funding,” said Jones. “DHHS tried to pick up the slack, but that still made us have to wait over 10 months for reimbursement. That put us about $184,000 short while waiting for those monies to come back in.”

When AWAKE was denied a crucial medical grant because of the pandemic, the organization had to use reserve funds.

“If we hadn’t had these huge cuts, we probably could have found a way to make it work, but not only that, we were also seeing a huge increase in services,” said Jones.

Needs for services continue to increase. Between June-July, 2019-2020 and June-July 2021-2022, there was a 62% increase in forensic interviews, 350% increase in medical evaluations and an 81.6% increase in new families coming to see AWAKE.

The amount needed for essential repairs, estimated by Western Builders, was $156,000. AWAKE was able to raise $91,288.43 through local foundations and private donors. In order to make up the difference, AWAKE officially requested $64,711.57 from Jackson County at the commissioner’s Sept. 6 meeting. The amount requested is a one-time ask that will enable the organization to finish repairs to its building.

“We want something to be there for the long haul because children are going to come,” said Jones. “It’s very important that children don’t feel like they’re just going to another corporate building. They need to feel secure when they come to talk to us. The trauma informed approach is crucial.”

The Jackson County Commission unanimously approved the request, allocating funds from its American Rescue Plan money.

“One of the things that I appreciate about AWAKE is that they have an educational component and I think that’s very important,” said Commissioner Gayle Woody. “I know with some of these social issues we can look at it and say the numbers are increasing, and they certainly are, but do we have to stay there? I think we don’t. I think we can be proactive with education. I applaud AWAKE, that they also are doing work in primary prevention.”