Tuition increase to be decided in June

By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University is still looking at a tuition increase for the 2006-07 school year, but just how much won't be decided until June.
The YSU Board of Trustees was expected to take up the tuition issue at its March 17 meeting, but Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president, said the matter will be delayed until the board's June meeting.
Sweet said he will tell the board's Finance and Facilities Committee at its March 2 meeting that there are still some variables the university needs to have in place before it can finalize its 2006-07 budget picture.
At the top of that list is a $30 million additional state allocation for higher education for 2006-07 that Ohio has yet to decide how to spend.
YSU expects to get some of that money, but just how much is uncertain, Sweet said, noting that it could approach $1 million.
That would help, but YSU's budgetary needs were made clear in December. The university is still looking at some increase in tuition, he said.
6 percent increase suggested
The administration presented the trustees with a 6 percent tuition increase at their December meeting, but the trustees voted to delay a decision until March.
A 6 percent tuition increase would generate about $4.8 million in additional revenue at current enrollment levels, according to Jeff Taylor, YSU's director of budget planning and resource analysis. YSU has just under 12,200 students enrolled this spring.
However, even if it has a 6 percent increase in place, the university is still anticipating a $1.2 million revenue shortfall for next year.
University division heads are being asked to come up with permanent budget cuts ranging from 1 percent to 1.5 percent for next year to help balance a general fund budget of about $130 million.
"We have the budget together in terms of different scenarios," Sweet said, explaining that factors such as enrollment projections, state funding and tuition rates are all included in various forms of a new budget.
YSU should have a much better picture of those factors in June, he said.
The university wants to restrain tuition increases as much as possible, but the inevitability of declining state resources, rising costs and an ongoing commitment to maintaining strong academic programs mean the university will be looking for another increase, he said.
YSU has raised tuition in each of the last eight years.
gwin@vindy.com