Pat Holmes • For The Post • ph835608@ohiou.edu
Members of the Ohio University Board of Trustees asked tough questions of university administrators yesterday as members struggled with whether to approve a series of budget reductions and fee increases.
Top OU administrators asked the board to approve a 3.5 percent tuition increase for next year, in addition to a 2.5 percent increase in housing and a 2 percent increase in dining fees.
The increases would mean undergraduates currently paying $2,559 a quarter in tuition would pay $2,648 a quarter next year. OU estimates that a student living in a standard double with air conditioning and a 20 meal plan will pay an additional $213 next year - an extra $71 each quarter.
The board will vote on all three proposed increases today.
In the Resources Committee meeting, Board Chairman C. Robert Kidder pushed OU President Roderick McDavis to explain what several proposed changes, including moving to a public-private partnership to operate South Green dorms, would mean for OU long-term.
What do we need to be competitive over the next 10 years? Kidder asked. What will that cost?
Kidder and other trustees said they are concerned that OU would not be able to attract students if it raises tuition and fees too much. McDavis pointed out that Ohio State University is planning to raise its tuition by 7.5 percent by next fall, which would leave OU with the fifth most expensive tuition in the state rather than the fourth.
Throughout a joint meeting between the Academics and Resources Committees, as well as the following Resources meeting, the board seemed willing to make cuts and possibly raise fees, but trustees said they had been hoping for more specific long-term information.
Vice-chairwoman M. Marnette Perry said trustees need more information about enrollment targets and capacity on the Athens Campus.
Where do we spend and in what sequence so the priorities and the sequencing begin to take a better form? she asked, adding she'd like to see a five- or seven-year plan.
During the joint meeting, Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit and Mike Angelini, interim senior vice president for Finance and Administration, walked board members through the past three months of budget discussions and outlined some of the reasoning behind the recommendations McDavis has put before the board.
We understood the potential consequences of our choices
Benoit told the trustees.
Board members listened to the presentation on recommended budget reductions, but seemed interested in making sure OU is also considering ways to increase revenue. Several trustees asked Benoit about options for bringing more students to the Athens Campus.
Help me understand what we're also doing to increase capacity Perry said. There are several ways to handle the situation we have. One is to give more of it to the taxpayer or the student or take draconian cuts ... Or it's increase capacity.
Benoit said OU has begun studying classroom capacity, dorm space, parking availability and the number of teaching faculty required to boost enrollment.
During both meetings, trustees asked top administrators for more specific long-term information about the potential for growth in Athens, and cautioned administrators not to rely too heavily on current enrollment projections and levels of state support.
When the trustees vote tomorrow, they will decide whether to approve McDavis' recommendations for filling a $13.75 million hole in next year's total budget.
1
News
Emily Grannis
