Temple University and the Temple Association of University Professionals (TAUP) have agreed to a two-year extension of the current contract through Oct. 15, 2014.

The TAUP membership approved the extension in online voting with the ballots tallied on Monday, May 7. Temple's Board of Trustees voted to approve the extension on Tuesday.

"This contract extension represents an opportunity to move Temple forward on the great trajectory that has marked the past few years of achievement. It ensures that our joint focus will be on the quality education of our students," said President Ann Weaver Hart. "I want to commend the TAUP leadership for their commitment to our students."

This pact comes early, five months prior to the current contract’s expiration date, which is evidence of the two sides’ cooperative approach to the talks, said Arthur Hochner, president of TAUP.

“The union and the administration came to the negotiations aiming to provide stability to faculty, staff and university finances," said Hochner. "We both want to assure that a Temple education remains affordable for the students we serve.”

"Having an agreement on these issues is vital for Temple. Everyone involved deserves our gratitude for moving this issue forward fairly and expeditiously," said Board of Trustees Chair Patrick O'Connor.

The contract extension includes the following elements:

The first year of the extended contract includes a salary freeze, along with a 1 percent merit pool, with payment to be deferred until FY2013-14 (which starts in July 2013). To be eligible for merit, a faculty member must have completed an annual report for FY2011-12.

In the second year, faculty will receive a 1.375 percent across the board increase; and a 0.25 percent increase contingent upon completion of an annual report. Librarians and academic professionals represented by TAUP will receive a 1.625 percent across the board raise.

There are changes in merit in the second year as well. Just as librarians and academic professionals have their own merit pools, there will be separate merit pools for nontenure track faculty (NTTs) and tenure track/tenured faculty. Each merit pool will consist of 1.375% of base salaries for each group as a whole. The agreement on two separate merit pools for faculty is for this one year, with no guarantee of an extension into future years. All other provisions of the existing contract will continue as they are now, with some minor exceptions.