At its meeting last week, the Board of Regents approved the institutional budget for UNG and the other system institutions. The first priority of our budget is, of course, to ensure a high quality educational experience for our students. Funding allocations will place an emphasis on academics to ensure that we serve our increasing student population and invest strategically in support services and programs.
Beyond that, our top priority is to invest in our faculty and staff members, which I view as 
our greatest assets in preparing students to become knowledgeable and skilled members of the workforce and their communities. As confirmed by a comprehensive salary review using market and industry data, many salaries have fallen significantly below competitive market levels. We have advocated for funding to get all of our employees paid at a level appropriate to master’s degree institutions in our region over the next three years. I am pleased that the University System of Georgia has demonstrated support for this and that we are able to make some adjustments this year to bring most employees to 82% of the market median for their job classification, with individual adjustments capped at 9.99% of base salary in accordance with USG guidance.
Detailed budget packages will be distributed to budget administrators on Monday morning. Staff members will receive salary letters soon after that and faculty members will receive their contracts within the next couple of weeks.
During the past several years of repeated budget reductions, UNG faculty and staff members have shown great resilience and creativity to reduce costs, while maintaining the university’s excellence in teaching, student support and university operations. I value your dedication and appreciate your continued contributions to the University of North Georgia.
Sincerely,
Bonita C. Jacobs, Ph.D.
President