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Trustees Consider University Budget
President Robert Glidden will present budget recommendations for the 2000-2001 budget to the Ohio University Board of Trustees for consideration this week. Trustees meet April 6 and 7 on the Athens campus.
"We have prepared a strong budget that makes a significant contribution to academic excellence while also addressing basic, ongoing needs such as salaries and health insurance," Glidden said.
Here are some highlights of the recommendations:
Athens Campus General Fund, $244,130,000
- As developed by the University Planning Advisory Council; its chair, Provost Sharon Brehm; and its budget adviser, Assistant Vice President for Finance Darrell Winefordner, the recommended budget is funded primarily by state money and student tuition and fees, which would increase by 6 percent.
- A 4.25 percent raise is recommended for employees on the Athens, OU-COM, and regional campuses to address inflation, increased health care costs and a competitive marketplace.
- Funds are recommended to increase bandwidth for faster Internet use on the Athens campus, maintain software for the Student Information System that supports course scheduling and student records, and strengthen the Center for Innovation in Technology for Learning. Scholarship funds are increased significantly, with a particular focus on minority recruitment. The John Newton Templeton scholarship program will be enhanced and the Advantage Award program will be expanded.
- More than $1 million is targeted for an Academic Excellence Initiative developed by Brehm. Funds will support new faculty positions awarded to colleges competitively on the basis of excellence in undergraduate education or excellence in interdisciplinary research; assist in setting up endowed chairs and professorships; enhance honors education; and create a university wide undergraduate research program. A dual-career funding pool will be established to strengthen recruitment and retention of faculty and staff by increasing spousal employment opportunities within the university.
- For the first time, the university will realize a greater percentage increase in state funding from the Success Challenge program, which rewards institutions for high graduation rates, than from the enrollment-based instructional subsidy. Although it represents only 5.3 percent of total state support, funds awarded to the university from the Ohio Board of Regents' Success Challenge program have jumped from $282,400 in 1999, the year it was created, to $5,580,000 estimated for 2000-01. This reflects the university's stable enrollment, its graduation performance relative to other institutions and the state's emphasis on performance funding.
"The emphasis on graduation rates is likely to increase even more in the future," Brehm said, "making it clear that retention and graduation of our students must be a major priority for the university."
Residence and Dining Hall Auxiliary, $42,948,000
- The budget allows for a computer to be placed in each residence hall room by fall 2000, carrying on an initiative that equipped freshman rooms with computers by the start of this academic year. Installing computers, printers and software along with providing related services will cost about $2.8 million.
- More than $4 million is budgeted for residence hall upgrades. All halls except Johnson Hall will be open to house about 6,835 students. Room and board rates are recommended to be increased by 8 percent for the next academic year and apartment rates by 4 percent.
Regional Higher Education, $52,516,000
- Freshmen and sophomores attending any of Ohio University's five regional campuses will pay 5 percent less in tuition thanks to Access Challenge funding made available through the Ohio Board of Regents. Juniors and seniors, who are not subsidized by the Access Challenge program, will see a 3 percent increase in tuition.
- The budget allows for a state-of-the-art Adult Learning Center to be created in Pickerington, east of Columbus. The center will offer undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as certificate programs for business and industry training. Budgeted as a new venture, the center will cover its operating costs through its income.
College of Osteopathic Medicine, $33,021,000
- OU-COM, challenged by a volatile health care environment, is recommending a 9 percent tuition increase. To continue providing medical training at a cost far below those of other medical programs, the college plans to aggressively pursue research and grant funding and reduce expenses through attrition.
* Check the News & Information page on the Web at www.ohiou.edu/news/ and the inaugural edition of Outlook Online on April 19 for details on the university's budget.
Ohio University Financial facts
- In the past year, Ohio University has been named one of the best college buys nationwide by America's 100 Best College Buys directory and described as a "hidden treasure" in the Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog. It was ranked 31st among national public universities by U.S. News and World Report sharing a slot with such schools as Michigan State, Indiana and Colorado. It was the only public institution in Ohio named by the John Templeton Foundation a leader in character development.
- Undergraduate resident tuition and fees at Ohio University for 1999-2000 ($4,800) are the lowest among the schools considered public residential universities (Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami and Ohio). Miami University remains the most costly ($6,112), followed by Kent State ($5,014) and Bowling Green ($4,906).
- The FY 2000 budget contains more than four times the amount of general funds scholarship and student financial aid grants earmarked for underrepresented students than the FY 1996 budget did.
- Overall financial support from the Ohio University Foundation is nearly double what it was in 1995. In 2000-01, more than $8.8 million will be directed to scholarships, instructional and departmental support, student services, research and various academic services.
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This story originally appeared in the printed April edition of the faculty and staff publication "Outlook."
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