West Virginia University, whose governing board wants to set its own salary policies for nonfaculty employees, was given the right to do so in a ruling on Thursday by the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals, according to the Associated Press.

The unanimous decision overturned a lower court’s ruling that said the state’s Higher Education Policy Commission could override whatever salary policy the university’s Board of Governors decided on. The commission wanted the university to pay staff members at a set entry rate, which would have increased starting salaries by $3,000 to $5,000. However, employee advocates at the university also said the commission’s plan would have meant that 800 of the institution’s 3,000 classified employees would earn less than the newly required entry-level pay. —Audrey Williams June