State appropriated funds for NSHE formula-funded instructional budgets
Institution	*FY2022	*FY2023	**FY2024	**FY2025	Change for biennium
UNLV	$180,367,661	$188,138,610	$209,161,530	$212,055,165	$52,710,424	14.30%
UNR	$128,307,698	$129,888,921	$141,600,407	$143,604,596	$27,008,384	10.50%
NSC	$25,581,096	$25,815,872	$31,014,568	$31,103,180	$10,720,780	20.90%
CSN	$100,013,941	$103,622,123	$103,093,245	$103,540,400	$2,986,581	1.50%
GBC	$14,130,910	$14,872,388	$14,649,803	$14,718,803	$365,308	1.30%
TMCC	34,327,835	$35,579,629	$35,544,817	$35,698,145	$1,335,498	1.90%
WNC	$14,332,707	$14,483,533	$15,766,811	$15,822,790	$2,773,331	9.60%
TOTAL	$490,061,848	$512,412,076	$550,831,181	$556,543,047	$97,900,304	9.70%
General fund appropriations only, before COLAs for FY2024 & FY2025. Excludes student fees and tuition. Excludes professional schools and non-formula budgets.
*FY2022 & FY2023 amounts include state-allocated ARPA funds for positions. **FY2024 & FY2025 from SB511 plus enrollment recovery funds and WSCH formula adjustments in AB491 and AB494.

NSHE Employee Class	Average Salary Increase, 11/2021 to 11/2022
Academic	3.9%
Classified	6.3%
Administrative A-D	7.9%
Administrative E	8.7%
Executives	14.8%
OVERALL	6.0%
Average percentage change of individual salaries for incumbent NSHE employees by employee class from November 2021 to November 2022. A 1% COLA was awarded on 7/1/2022. The salary schedule change on 7/1/2022 affected only incumbents below the new schedule minimums. Promotions or ad hoc raises account for additional increases. Compiled from public records by NFA, 10/2023.

Some growth across all classes during the period reflected in the table above can be attributed to a 1% COLA adjustment. Classified staff received annual steps for the first ten years in their grade; for faculty, there was a 1% merit pool distribution. All other growth occurred where incumbent employees were either promoted, or remained in their positions but received an ad hoc raise. An ad hoc raise can occur for one of several reasons. For example, an individual may absorb additional responsibilities due to campus vacancies, another may be equity adjustments. Some may be for individuals who simply found favor from their supervisors. Nonetheless, in the depths of the pandemic-fueled budget crisis, institutions still found adequate funding to provide substantial ad hoc raises.

While some faculty were the beneficiaries of these ad hoc salary adjustments, the vast majority of recipients were senior administrators and executives. Some ad hoc raises were modest. Some were eye-popping. The table below lists the ten largest individual ad hoc raises at NSHE institutions during each of the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years. One executive's raise at a university is larger than the total of the three largest raises given to faculty in the same year.

A quick scan of this table reveals that Nevada's universities in FY2022 and FY2023 gave out more of the top ad hoc raises to incumbent employees than the other institutions and those raises went primarily to executives and senior administrators.

It should surprise no one that faculty feel misused when they hear renewed austerity may prevent them from sharing in the largess. We understand that institutions face significant challenges finding the funding in their budgets to pay the full COLA, but we don't believe they are insurmountable.

In a letter to the Committee to Recommend Board Action on FY 2025 Salary Increases, NFA offers our rationale in support of the full 11% COLA. We also offer several recommendations to help ease the budget impact, such as limiting COLA for the highest paid executives and senior administrators, utilizing reserve accounts until registration fee increases catch up, and mandating that at least 80% of student fee revenue be allocated to the state operating budget in support of employee compensation, just to name a few.

Despite our best efforts, though, we know the most effective tools we have at our disposal are faculty voices. Last June, hundreds of faculty members, despite the summer break, responded to our call to speak out for the FY 2024 COLA. It is difficult for Regents to ignore when over 60 rank and file faculty members show up at one meeting to make their case in the public comment period. If we fail to turn out similar or better numbers when the FY 2025 COLA is on the Board's agenda, they will likely assume that we are satisfied with our prior pay bump and will be happy with whatever they approve. We must keep the passion on display.

Between now and that meeting, we encourage all faculty to call, email, or visit the Regent representing your district. Encourage them to approve the full 11% and to consider policy changes that prioritize employee compensation over spending for special projects and unproven initiatives. Most importantly, watch for the COLA proposal on the agenda for an upcoming Board meeting and plan to attend to make a public comment in support of the full amount. Besides the meeting on October 20, a special meeting is scheduled on November 1, and the quarterly meeting will be held November 30/December 1 in Las Vegas. We believe the decision will be made at the quarterly meeting, but we will keep the members notified if anything changes.

The COLA passed by the 2023 Nevada Legislature, and signed by Governor Lombardo, are legitimately historic. There will not be another opportunity for many years, if not decades, for our salaries to recover from the extended period of stagnation. We cannot afford to let this pass us by. At least, not without a fight.