Western Michigan University is offering buyout packages to tenured faculty over age 60 as a way to address budget shortfalls.
According to a document obtained by MLive, the “Voluntary Separation Program" will offer tiered buyouts of 50-100% of the 2026-2027 fiscal year base salary for eligible faculty that apply for the program.
Faculty must also have had a minimum of 10 years of service to qualify, and the buyout percentage is based on the faculty member’s years of service.
The document says the program must have an acceptance rate that will result in at least $5,000,000 of base salary savings for the university to move forward with the buyouts.
Applications open in September of this year. WMU says it’s seeking more savings as it faces “budgetary challenges”.
