Due to various delays in the conversion to a bi-weekly pay schedule, Marshall has named Aug. 19, 2017 as the new start date for the new schedule.

Director of Finance IT Bob Walker said the new date would allow potential problems to be fixed before fully implementing the program.

“There’s a lot of moving parts in this process,” Walker said. “The state has to approve and process our budget too, so it can be really difficult getting everyone on the same page.”

Walker said election season was one of the reasons the date was moved to August of next year.

“We really want to get this right, and timing on the calendar is an essential part of that,” Walker said.

He said waiting until after new state officials took office would allow Marshall University and the state government time to get adjusted. Walker said West Virginia University is also waiting until next year to switch to bi-weekly pay.

“We went into this [academic] year that we, on campus, were ready for the conversion,” Walker said. “But if the state isn’t ready, we need to wait until everyone is on board.”

The preparations for bi-weekly pay this semester included paying faculty their bi-weekly pay rate, but as the implement date was delayed, the faculty was still on the previous pay schedule, resulting in underpayment.

“The faculty has been so cooperative with this [situation],” Walker said, “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and are thankful for their patience.”

The deficit will be corrected with a supplemental paycheck on Nov. 23, and the previous pay schedule will continue until the new effective date.

Walker explained the bi-weekly schedule as “26 paychecks a year, instead of 24.” He said the yearly salary of faculty would not change, but there would be some adjustment with the individual paychecks.

“We’ve communicated with the faculty multiple ways to communicate these changes,” Walker said. “There’s a newsletter every Wednesday, several emails and we keep our website updated with every change.”

Walker said he is hopeful that August 2017 will have a smooth and successful transition to bi-weekly pay. He said there will be plenty of time to work with WVU and state government to make sure both universities are on schedule.

Brooke Estep can be contacted at [email protected].