BGSU tuition to increase 2%

Cost to rise by $106 a semester on main campus, $50 at branch

6/22/2013

Mazey

THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY
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BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University students should brace for a bigger tuition bill.

Trustees Friday approved a 2 percent increase for in-state undergraduate tuition and a 2 percent bump for all students’ general fees.

The increases mean full-time undergraduate students from Ohio enrolled at the main campus will pay an additional $106 a semester. It had cost $5,189 a semester in fiscal year 2013, compared to $5,295 this fall.

Undergraduates at the university’s Firelands campus near Huron, Ohio, will see a semester increase of almost $50, from $2,417 to $2,465.

In fiscal year 2014, the university expects a roughly $3 million decrease in state support, in part because of funding formula changes that weigh factors such as degree completion more heavily.

The university has estimated a nearly 30 percent decline in the funding known as State Share of Instruction in the last several years. Officials anticipate receiving about $64.4 million in the upcoming year, compared to about $90 million in 2010.

“This tuition increase really doesn’t even make up for the loss we will receive in SSI, and of course our expenses continue to increase,” BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey said after the meeting.

University officials anticipate the state’s budget bill will cap in-state, undergraduate instruction and general fee increases at 2 percent for fiscal year 2014 and 2015.

Last year, BGSU raised tuition and fees for undergraduates by 3.5 percent.

Trustees also approved a Clean Air and Smoking Policy that prohibits smoking in most areas beginning Jan. 1.

The university previously banned smoking inside facilities and within 25 feet of a building. The new policy extends to cover vehicles operated by university personnel and most outdoor areas, except designated parking lots.

“It’s a culture shift. We are all going to have to work together to do this,” Jill Carr, senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, told trustees.

The trustees, in other action, approved building projects, including work in Moseley, Hanna, and South halls. The board approved $3.4 million in work at the three sites for construction-related services and interior demolition, as well as $2 million for engineering services at those three buildings plus University Hall.

A renovation of the Huntington Building to house various university offices was approved at a cost of $4.475 million.

Olscamp Hall will receive an estimated $5.65 million upgrade for a “math emporium” — a 200-seat open lab area to include computer systems and two classrooms.

The building projects will be funded from state capital project funds and future long-term debt issuance.

Contact Vanessa McCray at:

vmccray@theblade.com

or 419-724-6065, or on

Twitter @vanmccray.