Pay rises were slightly higher for faculty members at US public institutions (2.2%) than at private institutions (2.0%) for the first time since 2009, finds the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) in Knoxville, Tennessee. The change suggests an overall strengthening of state economies, says Andy Brantley, CUPA-HR president. CUPA-HR's poll of 792 institutions and 180,000 faculty members also showed that compensation for tenure-track and tenured faculty members across both university categories rose by an average of 2.1% this academic year, the same increase as the year before.