Board of Trustees to approve budget, tuition at Thursday meeting
The 2011-12 operating budget, including undergraduate tuition rates, is up for approval at Thursday’s CMU Board of Trustees meeting.
The meeting will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the Presidential Conference Room, Bovee University Center 300.
The agenda for the meeting was released Tuesday afternoon. No specific information was included regarding the operating budget or what will take place with tuition.
University President George E. Ross gives a presentation at each board meeting, which will also take place Thursday morning.
Three board committees will meet publicly on Wednesday, Academic and Student Affairs will meet at 11:10 to 11:40 a.m. in the University Center’s Lake Michigan Room, the Finance and Facilities Committee will meet from 1:00 to 2:10 p.m. in the Presidential Conference Room and the College of Medicine Committee will meet from 2:15 to 2:50 p.m. in the Lake Michigan Room.
The board will discuss changing the name of the department of Geology and Meteorology to the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science.
Tuition increases have ranged at the other public universities in Michigan, from 3.65 percent at Eastern Michigan University to 7 percent at Oakland University. Most of the schools have made increases above 6 percent. The increases have kept in line with the state's tuition restraint penalty, which would cut into a university's public funding if tuition is increased more than 7.1 percent.
Ross has previously said any tuition increase for the 2011-2012 school year would be "modest."
The Faculty Association announced today it would accept a pay freeze if tuition was also frozen; the motion will be brought up at mediation Thursday morning. The group is currently bargaining with the university for a contract, theirs expired June 30.
Bath senior Sarah Johnson said her on-campus classes would not be affected by any tuition increase this year because she is still covered by the CMU Promise tuition plan, but her online classes would be affected by any alterations made to tuition.
"Part of me would like to see the university accept (the faculty's proposal)," she said. "It shows dedication the professors have for their students, but I also want to see professors get what they deserve. I hope they can meet in the middle ... a 7-percent tuition increase is kind of insane."
Johnson said the FA is demonstrating its character with the proposal, counteracting some negative opinions people may have with bargaining groups as a whole.
Shelby Township senior Brent Kearns said he suspects the board of trustees will reject the FA's proposal, but would like to see it come to fruition.
"(Tuition) is pricey enough as it is ... I will not be too happy (with a large increase)," Kearns said.
The operating budget will clarify what, if any, raises some employee groups will receive, including the senior officers and professional and administrative employees.
