College of Charleston President Andrew T. Hsu on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, shared the following message regarding the university’s fiscal year 2023 budget:
Dear Faculty and Staff,ย
I hope all of you are having a great summer and taking the opportunity to pursue various projects and initiatives as well as takingโ some well-deserved time off. For many of our staff members and student workers, this is an especially busy time ofโyear as we hold our new student orientations, which began last week.ย
I especially want to thank our facilities management and grounds crews who, despite the hot and humid weather, continue to maintain and beautify our campus for this summerโs many orientation sessions and in preparation for the fall semester.ย
The main purpose of writing to you today is to provide a few updates on the state and College budgets for fiscal year 2023. On Wednesday, June 15, 2022, the S.C. General Assembly adopted the state budget and sent it along to Governor Henry McMaster for approval. And around that time, our Board of Trustees met to approve the Collegeโs FY23 budget and set tuition rates for the next academic year.ย ย
The state budget, which was finalized this week, includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for all permanent, FTE employees. The 3% raise will appear in the July 15th paycheck. The budget also included a one-time, lump-sum $1,500 bonus for eligible, permanent, FTE employees to be paid in late October. Additional details regarding eligibility for the bonus will come later this fall.โ
In addition to the COLA and one-time bonus, the College has set aside a funding pool for targeted merit increases for qualified employees. This merit initiative directly supports the Collegeโs continued efforts to address employee compensation. Division heads and deans received guidelines for awarding merit increases, and those merit increases for selected employees will take effect on July 1, 2022.
The state budget also includes an appropriation of $4.1 million in new recurring state funds for the College and $22.5 million in new, one-time capital funding (for maintenance, renovation, replacement and expansion).ย ย
Our FY23 budget is built around the continued implementation of our strategic plan, Tradition and Transformation, and provides funding for several strategic initiatives, including a corresponding 3% increase for adjunct faculty, targeted compensation and pay compression initiatives, allocations to various academic programs (Honors College, summer programs, engineering and school/program alignment funds), student wellness initiatives and our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion.ย
All told, the College of Charleston fared very well in this budget cycle, a credit to our faculty and staffโs hard work in delivering an exceptional experience to our students. As I stated before, please take some time this summer to re-energize your batteries because the start of the fall semester is just around the corner. Go Cougars!ย
Sincerely,ย โ
โAndrewย
Andrew T.ย Hsu,ย Ph.D.
President
College of Charlestonโ
