The Board of Visitors decided to supplement the Commonwealth's compensation measures for the University's faculty and staff in a meeting held Saturday.
As a result of the continuing statewide budget crisis, University employees have not received either pay raises or bonuses for the past three years.
The State Council on Higher Education in Virginia previously had set a goal to keep faculty compensation for state schools in the 60th percentile among peer schools.
The University's salary rankings have fallen in the last few years to the 46th percentile in the 2000-2001 school year, and to the 27th percentile in 2002-2003.
In response to the problem, which has similarly affected other state schools, the General Assembly has approved a 2.25 percent increase in salary, effective in November.
The University will approve an additional 1.75 percent pay increase based upon current salaries, to be allocated to faculty members based upon merit.
The funds for this supplemental increase, totaling about $2 million, will come from several reserve funds and will not result in any immediate tuition increase.
From this pool, two funds totaling $450,000 have been established by the Board to compensate and reward outstanding classified employees.
The Board will be debating the implementation of a 2.5 percent tuition increase for the 2004-2005 school year, in order to address the compensation issue in a more permanent fashion.
Such a tuition increase may be rendered necessary if the state is unable to meet its financial obligation to the University within the year.
The University has suffered from more than $90 million in budget cuts over the last two years.
According to University spokesperson Carol Wood, faculty compensation is a serious issue for both faculty retention and recruitment, and is thus critical in the maintenance of the University's celebrated academic standing.
"People at the University have become adept at operating under financially constraining circumstances," Wood said. She credited the University's continued success to "strong fiscal management, incredible returns on the University's endowment and generous private support from alumni and friends."
The University faculty and staff have responded to the crisis well, she added.
English Prof. Michael Levenson, former chair of the department, said the faculty and staff members have "pulled together well, talked well and held good civic discussion." He added that faculty members have conducted themselves as "citizens of the University."
The University is among the first of Virginia's struggling schools to address this critical issue, Wood said.
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