State support falls, so trustees OK an increase in tuition

The board approved renovations to the Trumbull Campus library.
KENT -- The Kent State University Board of Trustees approved a 9-percent tuition increase this week for fall 2004. Three percent of the increase will be used for scholarships for needy students and technology expenditures.
The increase applies to all eight Kent State campuses and will raise the tuition for a full-time, Ohio-resident undergraduate student at the Kent Campus from the current $3,441 a semester to $3,752. Tuition for full-time graduate students will increase from $3,660 a semester to $3,990.
The only exception to the 9-percent increase will be upper division courses at the regional campuses, which will increase from $207 to $227 per credit hour, a 10-percent increase.
Reason for increase
University officials said the raise reflects a continuing drop in state support. The amount of state support to the Kent campus for 2005 is about the same as what was appropriated in fiscal year 1998, when the university served more than 17 percent fewer students.
This fall, Kent State's tuition will rank seventh among Ohio's 11 comprehensive public universities.
The tuition increase will generate more than $14 million for the Kent campus. However, more than 40 percent is earmarked for scholarships, other student financial aid and critical technology enhancements. After factoring in reductions in state support and hiring new faculty to address the latest increase in enrollment, an amount that is less than 2 percent of the overall budget will be available for general operating needs, officials said.
The increase was part of the $404.8 million fiscal year 2005 budget trustees approved for the eight-campus system.
Budget priorities
Priorities for the new budget are:
UScholarships and other tuition support.
UNew faculty positions and academic program support.
UOperating support for the new addition to Kent Hall.
UIncreases in the cost of insurance and library acquisitions.
UA $2.8 million pool of funds for salary increases or possible additional state cuts.
Although enrollment is growing, state appropriations on the Kent campus will decline 2.3 percent compared with last fiscal year. Yet state appropriations will grow by about 6.2 percent for the university's seven regional campuses as a result of enrollment growth on those campuses.
Regarding the Trumbull campus, the board authorized the vice president for administration to proceed with the design, bidding and construction of $500,000 in renovations to the Trumbull Campus library. The facility, which is in the Library/Technology Building, has not undergone any improvements since it was opened in 1976. The project, which is scheduled to begin this summer, will include construction of a new circulation desk, an Internet caf & eacute; area, study areas and a computer lab equipped with 25 workstations.
At the request of the Ohio Department of Transportation, board members also authorized the temporary donation a 1.9-acre parcel of land that is part of the university's Trumbull campus to ODOT during a project to widen State Route 45 from three to five lanes. The board also granted a temporary right-of-way agreement.