FY 2025 quarter one, which ended Sept. 30, saw expenses of $112.8 million, 34% of the $334.6 million budget, and revenue of $138.6 million, 41% of the budget, detailed in a statement here. This compares to expenses at 33% and revenue at 39% after the first quarter of the FY 2024 budget.

“In my opinion, that’s excellent progress from prior years,” Susan Howarth, executive vice president for strategy, operations and finance, said. 

Howarth said net tuition revenue is “the single strategic focus on the revenue side of the budget” since schools can lose revenue through increased enrollment. Net tuition revenue saw almost $64 million in quarter one, per the statement. 

WKU President Timothy Caboni said statewide, there can be an internal “complete focus” on student headcount. He said while population metrics are important, “the reality is that you can buy those numbers.”

“What we’ve been focused on ensuring is the fiscal health of the institution, not focusing on a number of students, but rather ensuring that net tuition is stable and growing,” WKU President Timothy Caboni said. 

Howarth said personnel expense is similar to last year while operating expense has increased, primarily in the “Other Financial Assistance” category due to more PELL and CAP awards and in the “Supplies & Operating” category due to higher property insurance. 

Howarth said she, Caboni and Provost Bud Fischer continue to monitor inflationary increases and all campus units “to make sure that everybody is staying within the tails and no one is getting out of control.”

“Our budget is in great shape,” Caboni told the Herald. “We’re in better shape than last year and we’re going to be in better shape next year as well.”

Shane Spiller, faculty regent, asked Caboni how it is decided which “competing” units receive additional funds or personnel if it’s sought.

“I think it’s pretty simple,” Caboni responded. “This is the amount of money you have, don’t overspend it. And if you need more, we can talk about how we allocate revenue to meet those needs. But until someone has the conversation around ‘this is absolutely mission critical,’ then don’t add it.”

Caboni said it is important to recognize the RAMP model makes it easy for units to understand what money is allocated, which must be taken into account when planning. He said he’s seen “good progress” from Athletics, which he expects to continue. 

The Regents also approved:

• The auditor’s report and financial statements for FY 2024. Jennifer Williams, Forvis Mazars audit partner, said the financial reports provided to the agency present fairly. 
• A resolution to secure a $10 million line of credit through JPMorgan Chase Bank to be used “only in the event the timing of revenue collections does not match expense payment timing,” according to the meeting agenda.
• Faculty and staff personnel actions from March 1 to Sept. 30 and one-time compensation payments in the Sept. 1 to Sept. 30 payroll period.
• A recommendation for revising BOR bylaws, which will shift the responsibility of auditing from the Executive Committee to the Finance and Budget Committee, which will be renamed the “Finance, Budget, and Audit Committee.”

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu.

Caboni told the Faculty Senate during its September meeting that “2% a year is not enough,” and that across-the-board salary increases “are not going to address our issues.” He instead emphasized implementing merit-based raises. 

Jace Lux, university spokesperson, told the Herald Wednesday via email that university leadership accepted the BEC’s recommendation because it believes it “best enables our faculty and staff to address inflationary pressures” and demonstrates “the respect leadership has for the BEC’s work and the important role it plays in the budgeting process.”

Lux said in the email Caboni anticipates the BEC’s recommendation next year to include the incorporation of merit-based salary increases.

All faculty and staff members hired on or before July 31 are eligible for the 2% increase, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, Caboni said in the email. 

“We recognize and deeply value the dedication of our faculty and staff both to our students and to WKU,” Caboni said in the email. “Thank you for your continued work to transform lives and achieve our institutional mission.”

The announcement comes following the university’s announcement of a 22.5% increase in health care premiums. The WKU Department of Human Resources released the 2025 benefits guide on Oct. 3, which outlined the plans available to faculty and staff for 2025. WKU math professor Dan Clark, in an email to faculty and staff, shared a document explaining that premiums were increasing. This includes a $25.42 increase from last year and a $53.42 total increase since 2018.

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu 

Speaking for over an hour, Caboni addressed faculty concerns about salaries, the 2024-25 operating budget, accountability for overspending areas such as Athletics and the university’s work to achieve R2 status.

Compensation 

Caboni said several questions directed towards him were about faculty salaries.

Based on the university’s RAMP budget model, financial allocations within the colleges are distributed by the deans with input from department chairs, Caboni said.

“If you feel under-compensated, talk to your department chair,” Caboni said.

Caboni said the Budget Executive Committee is currently deciding how to allocate the 2% salary pool that was approved for this fiscal year. He recognized that “2% a year is not enough” yet said that across-the-board faculty salary increases like this “are not going to address our issues.”

A solution to this, Caboni said, is the implementation of merit-based salary increases.

“Every 2% salary increase costs us about $2.5 million just in salary, not benefits, not retirement, and for us to make a $2.5 million additional investment, we’ve got to find the resources somewhere,” Caboni said.

Caboni asked the senate to think about what they want to accomplish together and said he, the provost and the deans are “ready and willing” to work with faculty to progress the university. 

“I want you to hear from me that I’m committed to you, committed to this place, and I’m proud of the work that we’re doing together,” Caboni said. “I thank you for sometimes your forbearance, for knowing that we’re not going to agree on everything, but for trusting that no one on my team and I never make a decision that we don’t think is in the best interest of the university.”

Budget and overspending

Caboni said the FY 2024-25 budget is “in a good spot,” noting a $4 million increase compared to the previous year’s budget.

“We are up $20 million in our budget in the past four years,” Caboni said. “I know it may not feel like that to you because we’re actually talking about budget realities in a pretty transparent, direct way.”

When asked why departments are being penalized for other units’ overspending habits, Caboni said departments aren’t being penalized for others’ overspending, and those who spend more than their budgets must pay the money back. 

“If you’re over, what’s going to happen?” Caboni asked. “Well, you’re going to have to explain what happened… you’re going to explain what the plan is to fix it, rectify it, and not be over. And number three, you’re going to have to figure out how you’re going to pay that back.”

Caboni said that the university is dedicated to addressing budget concerns in a “transparent” manner. He said that the current budget-making process and the role of the Budget Executive Committee allow this transparency.

At the Staff Senate meeting on September 4, Caboni announced that Athletics, the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the department of Enrollment and Student Experience each overspent their fiscal year 2023-24 budget. Athletics presented to the Budget Executive Committee in a closed meeting the same day to address its overspending.

Graduate education and R2 status

Caboni spoke about his desire to see WKU achieve R2 status, which he said would be good for the university’s reputation and help expand research opportunities for students.

“That is a rich recruiting ground for us to both develop talent and identify folks who have the capacity to continue on past a master’s degree,” Caboni said.

Caboni also said college deans control graduate assistantship funds and have the “flexibility to grow the number of dollars there,” noting the need to “be intentional” and plan for grant-funded work.

“There are dollars available, we just have to be intentional about maximizing the opportunities,” Caboni said.

Also at the senate’s meeting, Caboni:

• Said there will not be an additional round of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan in January, and he told faculty to “not pass this one up” if eligible.
• Emphasized that the university’s healthcare plan “is competitive,” noting that the WKU has not increased faculty contributions to health insurance for five years.
• Addressed his presentation to the Interim Joint Committee on Education on Sept. 17 on the university’s ONE WKU program and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu.

News Reporter Cameron Shaw can be reached at cameron.shaw555@wku.edu. 

Caboni joined the presidents of the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, Eastern Kentucky University and Murray State University, where they were scheduled to present information to and answer questions from lawmakers on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Caboni said diversity on campus is defined by things such as geographic background, age, education, language, food insecurity, socioeconomic status, political views first-generation and marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, abiloty and disability, military status, religion, culture, ethnicity and race.

The ONE WKU Campaign, which launched in 2020, intends to cultivate a sense of belonging for every individual who comes to campus, Caboni said, emphasizing the importance of supporting students on an individualized basis. 

“Professors not only know their student’s names, they know who they are and they know how to help,” Caboni said.

Caboni noted the work of Student Support Services, Living Learning Communities, first-generation programming, registered student organizations and global study, as well as research opportunities and free speech as examples of how to foster student success. 

“What we know is that students attain success by experiences and engagement, both inside and outside the classroom,” Caboni said. “The support structure we provide must continuously evolve to meet the needs of our students throughout the course of their college journey.”

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu 

The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office ruled the WKU Board of Regents did not violate the Open Meetings Act when holding preliminary meetings to discuss the budget, but it did rule that the Board violated the Act when it failed to respond to the Herald’s complaint.

On July 31, the Herald’s legal counsel submitted a complaint to the Board, accusing it of violating the Open Meetings Act when it held a series of “workshops” on June 3 and 4.

The Attorney General’s Office noted a lack of evidence in the Board’s intent to circumvent the act, leading it to rule in favor of the Board.

“When evidence of the members’ intent is lacking, the Office has acknowledged its inability to conclusively determine that the public agency violated KRS 61.810(2),” the Attorney General’s decision said.

The decision stated the Herald had not demonstrated that the meetings were held “for the purpose” of avoiding the Act or that the meetings were not held “to educate the members on specific issues.”

However, the Office did find the Board in violation of the Act when it failed to respond to the Herald’s complaint within three business days, as required in KRS 61.846(1).

“The Board does not deny that it failed to respond to the Appellant’s complaint concerning the April 8, 2024, meeting,” the decision said. “Thus, the Board violated the Act.”

According to the decision, the Board explained that it does not monitor its official email and the complaint should have been directed to WKU’s general counsel or outside counsel. But, under KRS 61.846(2), a complainant must “submit a written complaint to the presiding officer of the public agency suspected of” violating the Act.

“Presumably, neither WKU’s general counsel nor outside counsel is the presiding officer of the Board,” the decision said. “Thus, under the Act, the Appellant was not permitted to initiate its complaint by directing it to WKU’s general counsel or outside counsel.”

“We are pleased that the Attorney General’s office supported the university’s position that the informational budget workshops did not violate the Kentucky Open Meetings Act. As we have explained, those voluntary workshops served to deepen our board’s understanding of a complex, multimillion dollar budget prior to voting on the budget meeting in June,” WKU spokesperson Jace Lux said in an email to the Herald. “The opinion issued by the Attorney General’s Office confirms that neither the board nor the university officials acted inappropriately.”

“As noted in WKU’s response, the complaint was emailed to a regent inbox that is not monitored regularly, and thus the failure to respond within three days was unintentional,” Lux continued. “After receiving notification through other channels that a complaint had been filed several times due to a typo in an email address on the part of the Herald’s legal counsel, the university prepared and submitted a timely response.”

Any party unsatisfied with the decision may appeal in the appropriate circuit court.

News Reporter Cameron Shaw can be reached at cameron.shaw555@topper.wku.edu.

Athletics and student experience also overspent last year, which contributed to the $11 million gap between revenue and expenses from fiscal year 2022-23. 

The divisions that overspent in fiscal year 2023-2024 will have to “present” to the Budget Executive Committee, which Caboni said is in the process of gathering last year’s financial data. Those who overspent will be held accountable by the university in a transparent manner, he said.

“If you do that, you’re going to have to pay it back,” Caboni said.

According to Caboni, athletics was scheduled to “answer difficult, challenging questions” about their overspending from the Budget Executive Committee in a closed meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Caboni didn’t provide specific statistics on the overspending.

Caboni also told the Senate that the 2024-2025 budget is $4.3 million larger than last year’s. The university has gained almost $20 million in additional revenue in the last four years, he also said.

“In that context, some folks are like, ‘Where’s our budget problem?’” Caboni said. “We don’t have a budget problem. We have a spending challenge, and we’re addressing it directly.”

Caboni continued by saying that while he was proud that the Budget Executive Committee has worked to provide a 2% raise for faculty and staff each year for the last four years, the university can no longer “do 2% across-the-board raises.” 

He said instead, he intends raises to serve as performance evaluations. Caboni provided the example of an employee receiving a 5% raise, which would signal high-performance work, whereas if an employee were to receive a 1% raise, it could signal they might need to do more. 

In addition to budget issues, Caboni also announced that faculty and staff will receive five additional days of winter break. This announcement was followed by an email sent after the meeting.

“This decision reflects the importance we place on fostering a positive and supportive work environment and our continued efforts to enhance work/life harmony for each member of our WKU family,” Caboni wrote in the email.

Caboni also told the Senate that he understands they may feel unsupported due to a decrease in staffing in the clerical/secretarial, skilled crafts and service/maintenance departments. 

According to the WKU Fact Book, there has been a loss of 89 clerical/secretarial employees, 21 skilled crafts employees and 23 service/maintenance employees over the last four years.

Caboni said changing work nature and evolving technologies have changed the need for clerical/secretarial employees at the front of every department. However, he said several service/maintenance positions are currently posted.

“We’re listening,” Caboni said to the Senate. “The organization appreciates you, and we’re going to work hard to make sure that we meet your needs and the institution’s needs.”

Content Editor Ali Costellow can be reached at ali.costellow453@topper.wku.edu.

According to the university’s Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan for faculty, those whose applications are accepted will separate from the university effective December 31, 2024. Faculty will receive the incentive payment on Jan. 31, 2025. Staff will separate from the university effective Nov. 30, 2024, receiving the incentive payment on the last regularly scheduled payroll in Jan. 2025, the plan for staff states.

“Participants will receive a lump-sum payout from the University, which offers both recognition of their dedicated service and budget flexibility for the institution,” Howarth said in an email sent to all faculty and staff. “This flexibility will enable us to reinvest in strategic priorities and continue advancing our institutional mission.”

An estimated 388 employees meet the eligibility requirements for the program, according to University Spokesperson Jace Lux.

Eligible faculty and staff can submit an application until Friday, Oct. 18 at 5:00 p.m. According to the program’s website, eligible faculty must have completed 15 years of service at WKU by Dec. 31, 2024, while eligible staff must have completed 20 years of service by the same date. Both faculty and staff must also be actively employed in full-time, fully budgeted Education and General positions.

The university implemented a similar program in January 2021, in which 125 university employees participated. The 2021 program limited the amount faculty could be compensated to $100,000. According to Lux, there is no such limit on the newly announced program. Lux also said the university also experienced a cost savings with the 2021 program and the university “anticipates increased financial flexibility this year as well.”

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X at @pricewilborn.

WKU President Timothy Caboni announced a restructuring of the university’s Division of Enrollment and Student Experience in an email to faculty and staff on Monday. The changes come after a study by the ESE Restructuring Committee, led by Jeff Budziak, associate dean of the Potter College of Arts and Letters.

The study was announced in February following the resignation of Ethan Logan as vice president of enrollment and student experience. The Division of Enrollment and Student Experience was created in 2018.

As part of the changes made, the Student Engagement and Student Life functions of the division will remain under the leadership of Martha Sales, who will now serve as vice president of student experience and dean of students.

“I am very excited about the opportunity [to take on this new position],” Sales told the Herald in an interview. “Anytime that I am able to assist the students more, advocate our campus constituents and community and individuals about how wonderful our students are, that makes me excited.”

The university’s Enrollment Management and Student Success functions will move into the Division of Academic Affairs and the Office of the Provost, Caboni said. This move will include the university’s offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Student Financial Assistance, Advising and Career Development Center, Adult Learner Services, Student Athlete Success Center and the Transfer Center.

According to Jace Lux, university spokesperson, Assistant Vice President for Student Success Chris Jensen will continue to oversee the Advising and Career Development Center.

“Assessments of organizational structures at benchmark institutions revealed several possible homes for enrollment and student success functions, but Academic Affairs is the most pragmatic of these choices for WKU,” Caboni wrote.

John-Mark Francis, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management, will continue to oversee WKU’s enrollment management areas in an interim capacity.

The Student Accessibility Resource Center will now report to the Office of Institutional Equity.

“Organizationally relocating SARC within the Office of Institutional Equity enables us to best support our students while also making sure our practices adhere to local, state and federal regulations,” according to Caboni.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X at @pricewilborn

The university’s budget for the 2024-25 year, which the Board of Regents approved in June, calls for assessing a 10% “overhead charge” on revenue-dependent accounts – those areas of the university that are funded only by the money they bring in. The Herald is a revenue-dependent operation.

Caboni said on Thursday that WKU has not yet figured out how it will implement the plan.

“We do not have an implementation plan for the 10% we’re still having conversations around, is that the most efficient way to do this, or might there be other ways,” Caboni said.

On Monday, Caboni announced at his Faculty and Staff Convocation that the WKU Opportunity Fund has surpassed its $100 million goal. In the interview with the Herald, he praised the over $100 million dollars raised for the Opportunity Fund and its constant benefits to students.

“We’ve actually supported over 20,000 students because of the work of the opportunity fund in the past several years, and it’s rewarding,” said Caboni.

Caboni also noted the increased pressure on the university’s education and general fund budget. It is this budget out of which most of WKU’s operations are funded, including salary for faculty and staff and institutional scholarships. He expressed that, despite pressures on the fund, his focus remains on student and faculty support. 

He also said he hoped the Kentucky General Assembly would increase its funding of higher education in the coming years, as it did in the state’s current two-year budget.

“And so, what my hope is, and I’m thankful for the legislature, is that they will continue to see us as a good investment,” Caboni said. “The more that they can invest, either in performance funding, or my preference would be base budgets, the more we’ll be able to do as an institution.”

With the movement of six former C-USA teams to the American Athletic Conference at the beginning of the 2023 season, the league began adding teams moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football, from the Football Championship Series.

Caboni, a former C-USA chair, said the conference was looking for schools that were “similar to us, had strong budgets, had strong enrollment, had success at the FCS level.” Jacksonville State in Alabama and Sam Houston State in Texas made their league debut in 2023, Kennesaw State in Georgia will make its introduction this year and Delaware and Missouri State will join in 2025.

“Many of the universities in Conference USA are R2 universities, what we aspire to become,” Caboni said. “And so I think what you’re going to see is a group of institutions that are making a similar investment in sports. They have similar size programs and I hope there is parity and good competition among them.”

Caboni said it will “take some time” to see in-conference rivalries develop for WKU. The Hilltoppers already compete in the “100 Miles of Hate” rivalry against conference opponent Middle Tennessee State and Caboni said he already feels a rivalry with Liberty University in Virginia and believes one will develop with Jacksonville State because “it’s a drive that folks can make.”

What else to know

• Caboni reaffirmed his and the university’s support of students’ right to free speech while on campus. He expressed pride about the WKU community’s response to last semester’s events surrounding Kyle Rittenhouse. He said that, as a public university, WKU is a place for the discussion of diverse ideas and that any peaceful speech cannot be prohibited or limited on campus. “Freedom of speech is one of our most important constitutionally guaranteed rights,” Caboni said.
• The taskforce to reevaluate the fundamentals of the Mahurin Honors College, which was first announced at Monday’s convocation, will likely form in September, Caboni said. The taskforce will work throughout the year to come up with recommendations to “hopefully” be implemented during the fall 2025 semester.
• Caboni confirmed that there will be another installment of the Presidential Lecture Series this fall, though he could not provide any additional information.
• Caboni was unable to provide further updates on Hilltopper Hall, which was shut down completely in the Spring of 2024 due to cracking in the facade that raised safety concerns. “I wish Hilltopper Hall was open today,” he said.

Caboni was looking forward to a successful year on the Hill, saying that he was most looking forward to seeing happy, new faces on campus and also that he was excited about success with student retention.

“I want every Hilltopper to know that there is going to become a point as you left home and you come here and you’ve separated from your family for a period of time that you’re going to realize that you’re on your own…But that even though you’re on your own, when you’re here, you’re never alone,” Caboni said.

Sherrill’s last day in the office will be August 26. According to University Spokesperson Jace Lux, Sherrill has accepted another human resources position in Bowling Green.

“We are thankful for her dedicated service to the Hilltopper family and wish her the best as she begins her next chapter,” Lux said.

The Herald has reached out to Sherrill for comment but did not receive a response.

Lux said that a search commenced for Sherrill’s replacement on August 8. No additional details were provided.

Editor-in-Chief Price Wilborn can be reached at edwin.wilborn835@topper.wku.edu. Follow him on X @pricewilborn