The University of North Texas has announced a voluntary buyout plan that would offer some faculty members a year's pay if they resign.
Major school districts in North Texas are offering similar programs to lessen the impace of layoffs they expect to make because of state funding cuts.
But while university officials said the program is being offered in anticipation of state budget cuts, UNT is not trying to lower its payroll. UNT leaders said they need to reallocate resources in expectation of funding cuts by the Legislature because they need to hire more instructors for their growing student body.
"In some cases, we will hire people that command an equal salary, but in other cases, we will be hiring more junior faculty and lecturers that will demand a lesser salary," said Warren Burggren, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs.
About 300 faculty members are eligible to apply for the program, he said. It's open to tenured faculty members with at least 15 years of employment at UNT.
"We are essentially offering a certain subset of our faculty to voluntarily separate from the university," Burggren said. "In exchange, they will get a year of salary."
Eligible faculty members will have until April 22 to apply for the voluntary separation program. School leaders said they probably will not be able to accept everyone who applies.
Any savings that are left over after new instructors are hired will go to research.
