State System Board approves contracts with PA university faculty raises

(Harrisburg) -- The board that oversees Pennsylvania's state-owned universities has given the green light to new contracts for thousands of faculty members and hundreds of sports coaches.

The board of governors of the State System of Higher Education ratified the pacts today.

The four-year contracts are retroactive to July 2011. They provide raises totaling 4 percent for the 5,500 faculty members, while the 600 coaches will get raises totaling 4.75 percent plus performance-based merit pools in the last two years of their contract.

Both groups are represented by the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties.

The state system comprises 14 universities, including those in Shippensburg, Kutztown, Millersville and Bloomsburg, that enroll about 115,000 students.