Faculty salaries at Kansas University this fiscal year rose almost twice as much as the national average for similar universities, according to a study released Friday.

But KU’s salaries on average are still about $5,000 below those at other public, doctorate-granting universities.

“It’s not been tremendous, but we’ve been slightly better and we made up a little ground  which we could lose all this year,” said Lindy Eakin, associate provost.

According to the report by the American Association of University Professors, the average KU full professor earns $84,400 per year. The national average for all public, doctorate-granting universities is $89,600.

KU’s faculty salaries increased 6.4 percent this fiscal year. The national increase was 3.6 percent.

The KU increase  the largest since 1995  was in part due to Senate Bill 345 funding. The 1999 law provided extra money for faculty salaries at state universities, and it has translated into an extra 3 percent increase per year on average at KU.

Although SB 345 was intended to provide funds for four years, the Legislature likely won’t fund the bill this year amid the state budget crisis.

Tom Beisecker, a communications professor and president of KU’s University Council, said he wasn’t expecting any salary increase next year.

“The report from this year is going to look pretty good,” Beisecker said. “The report for next year, in all likelihood, will not look good at all. We were making progress, and it’s a shame we might be regressing.”

Beisecker said having lower salaries made hiring faculty difficult and caused current faculty to consider jobs elsewhere.

“There is a market price for quality faculty members, and that market price is set nationally, not locally,” he said. “If we can’t meet the market price, we’re not able to attract people as readily to KU. I don’t know how much ground we’re going to lose this year.”

The situation may be similar at other universities, though. The AAUP report  titled “Quite Good News  For Now”  says sagging budgets may hurt salaries across the country.

Eakin said KU was about $7,000 behind the average of its state-selected peer groups on faculty salaries. That number may increase after this legislative session, he said.

“If you look at what’s going on in the Legislature, nobody’s talking about any type of salary increases for anybody,” he said.