Students will see tuition increase 5.9 percent this fall. The Baker University Board of Trustees approved the increase at Friday’s meeting, where the budget was the topic of discussion for most of the day.
University President Pat Long said tuition costs are monitored closely each year by looking at what other schools are doing, the cost of keeping the university functioning and ability to provide financial aid. Baker has seen about a 6 percent increase in tuition in each of the past three years.
“It is a major concern to me where the cost of our tuition is going (because) we’re high and so we want to make sure we’re not pricing ourselves out of the market,” she said.
Budget Director Darla Prather said the university tries to keep tuition increases between 5 and 6 percent each year to minimize the impact it has on students.
Tuition increased about 7 percent in 2007-2008 and 6 percent in 2008-2009, taking tuition from $18,750 to $19,880, respectively. Tuition for 2009-2010 will increase by $1,170 to $21,050. Housing costs also will increase between $150 to $250, depending on where students choose to live, and meal plans will increase anywhere from $250 to $300 for the year.
Prather said a lot of the increase has to do with what other private and public institutions are doing, not only locally but also nationally. Schools like the University of Kansas often provide an overall tuition rate, which isn’t a set figure but fluctuates depending on what students’ majors are and the price per credit hour within that department.
For students looking to enter college for the first time or who want to transfer, Prather said, “You really have to do your homework and see if it’s affordable for you.”
The BOT approved a $39 million budget for next year, which is $3 million less than 2008-2009.
“It’s a very conservative budget when it comes to revenue projection,” she said.
The university is hoping it will exceed revenue projections, but will not plan on that happening because of the economy. The university is also being very conservative with the endowment so as not to dip into the corpus. Long said it hasn’t been an easy year with budget cuts and layoffs but she’s proud of the accomplishments by students, faculty, staff and administrators alike.
Trustees spent the entire morning Friday talking about the budget and ate lunch with students in the cafeteria. Baker trustee Neal Malicky said during the business meeting Friday afternoon that academic excellence cannot take place at Baker or any other university without finances, but thinks the university is headed in the right direction.
<br/>Trustees spent the entire morning Friday talking about the budget and ate lunch with students in the cafeteria. Baker trustee Neal Malicky said during the business meeting that academic excellence cannot take place at Baker or any other university without financing, but thinks the university is making wise decisions about each topic.Trustees spent the entire morning Friday talking about the budget and ate lunch with students in the cafeteria. Baker trustee Neal Malicky said during the business meeting that academic excellence cannot take place at Baker or any other university without financing, but thinks the university is making wise decisions about each topic.
Trustees spent the entire morning Friday talking about the budget and ate lunch with students in the cafeteria. Baker trustee Neal Malicky said during the business meeting that academic excellence cannot take place at Baker or any other university without financing, but thinks the university is making wise decisions about each topic.
“One doesn’t happen separate from the others,” he said. “With the leadership we saw (Friday) morning, they will come together.”
The university approved the sale of property at 1312 10th St. and will replace the roof on Harter Union over the summer. Long said extra care will be taken cleaning the residence halls, especially Irwin Hall because of mildew cases that arose this year due to the building’s ventilation problems.
