Paying quarterly tuition and fees is routine for many Ohio University students, but not all of them know how their — or their parents’ — money is spent.
Spencer Smith, a junior studying English, said he does not check where his tuition and fee dollars are going but thinks it’s important information nonetheless.
“Even if a vast majority of students aren’t looking at it, it’s still important that the information is out there,” he said. “If the university is doing something that we don’t agree with, there’s no way for us to know unless that information is published.”
Some students have shown interest in how the university handles its money, said Chad Mitchell, interim budget director for OU.
"(Student Senate) representatives made recommendations to OU to enhance the online presence of this sort of information to provide more resources for students to better understand where the money is being spent on the General Fee side,” he said.
"OU is planning to add easy-to-read charts, spreadsheets and graphs to its website to make budget information more accessible to students,” Mitchell said.
This idea appeals to Mary Swick, a senior studying media studies.
“Charts and graphs are easier to read than reading a whole report,” she said.
A document detailing the General Fee, which funds non-academic units, and the General Fund, which includes both tuition dollars and funds from the state, for this fiscal year is not yet available online.
“The budget office has been short-staffed since an employee went on maternity leave, but budget employees are expecting to get the document online in the next couple of weeks,” Mitchell said.
Most of the money OU students pay into the General Fund pool goes to paying faculty and staff members. This year, salaries, wages and benefits accounted for 67.3 percent of expenditures from the General Fund.
Other public universities represent their spending differently.
“Ohio State University does not include a separate line item for salaries, which are budgeted across all categories of expenses,” said Jim Lynch, director of media relations at OSU.
Universities also use each funding pool in different ways. Miami University sets aside money, labeled “plant funds,” from its General Fee for maintaining facilities, while OU does not tap into the General Fee for buildings on campus.
“A portion of the General Fee can be dedicated for construction rehabilitation and maintenance improvements of buildings,” said David Ellis, associate vice president for budgeting and analysis at Miami.
The biggest expense out of OU’s General Fee for fiscal year 2012 is athletics, which makes up 34.6 percent, or about $8.6 million, of General Fee spending.
That number has decreased from 47.7 percent in fiscal year 2011, when the General Fee included athletic scholarships. Those scholarships are now included in the General Fund budget.
Miami gives more to athletics, which come in at 52.6 percent, or about $15 million, of the General Fee budget for 2011-12. Scholarships for athletes are partly supported by Miami’s General Fee.
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