Student growth nets YSU $1.9M Tuition frozen for 2008; room, board going up

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Student workers and academic programs will be the main beneficiaries of a $1,912,000 budget surplus at Youngstown State University.

The university’s board of trustees revised the current year’s budget Wednesday, approving allocations of the additional funds. The additional revenue was the result of the university’s getting a larger fall student enrollment than anticipated. There were 13,497 students enrolled this fall.

The largest individual chunk of the money will be placed into a budget reserve that can be tapped later for things such as motor pool gasoline, costs associated with the Higher Education Commission accreditation process, legal fees and other general operations, including costs YSU might incur in future participation in collaborative programs with other Northeast Ohio state universities.

A boost in the state’s minimum wage resulted in a 31 percent increase in the cost of student labor as hourly rates rose from a low of $5.35 to $6.85. The wage goes to $7 on Jan. 1.

YSU reduced the number of work hours allocated for student employees this year to accommodate the pay raise. Last year’s budget funded 275,000 hours of student work, but this year’s budget was cut to 242,000 work hours.

Channeling more money into that fund will now raise the number of hours to 278,000 this year.

The provost’s office will be given a discretionary fund to target academic programs and initiatives that are consistent with the university’s academic strategic plan.

Jones Hall, YSU’s oldest building, will get an expansion of the offices of the Center for International Studies and Programs to help promote the internationalization of the YSU student experience through changes in curriculum and study-abroad programs while increasing the international student enrollment on campus.

In other matters, the trustees voted to again freeze tuition at its current levels for next year. This is in accordance with a two-year freeze arrangement with the state, which is increasing its annual allocations to the university in exchange for no tuition increases.

Undergraduate tuition remains at $3,360 per semester.

The trustees did vote to raise the room and board fee for residential students next year by $350 to $7,090, a move that will affect about 1,000 students.

At the urging of student Trustee Stephen W.T. Foley, the trustees opted not to change the existing tuition refund policy for students who choose to drop a course. Currently, students can get a 100 percent refund if they drop a course in the first week, 85 percent refund if they drop it during the second week and 70 percent if they drop it in the third week.

A proposed policy change would have provided a 100 percent refund for course dropped in either the first or second week, but no refund after that.

The issue will be revisited before the end of the current school year.

gwin@vindy.com