IU Trustees Approve Operating Budget

The paid parental leave policy will begin July 1.

The Indiana University Board of Trustees has approved the university’s operating budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. IU says the budget includes $3.7 billion in spending across all of the university’s campuses, a 2.5 percent increase over the previous year. The budget also includes previously-set resident undergraduate tuition and fee increases, as well as a salary increase for faculty and professional staff.

IU says the 2.5 percent increase is the smallest budget increase in three years. The budget covers employee salaries and benefits, energy and utility costs, and planning for strategic initiatives. 

The university says the salary increase comes with an additional focus of increasing the pay of employees who earn less than $15 per hour. Those in that category will receive a 2-percent increase along with a $600 bonus, which also took occurred in the previous budget. IU says the move is part of an effort to bring all employees to a wage of at least $15 per hour by the university’s bicentennial in 2020. 

IU Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Sejdinaj and Associate Vice President for Budget and Planning Samuel Adams have also proposed to the trustees a change in the construction of the next budget. They are recommending that the university examine a move to a two-year budget cycle, creating the opportunity for IU to follow the cycle of tuition and state revenue appropriations, which are done on biennial cycles. 

IU says moving to a two-year cycle will create efficiency in the budget planning timeline and allow for more focus on long-term financial planning. The board endorsed the recommendation.