After the Baker University Board of Trustees’ visit to campus Feb. 16, both students and faculty will be seeing some increases.
However, four faculty members might be happier with their rise in status than a proposed hike to student tuition.
Tuition for the 2007-2008 academic year will go up 6.8 percent from $16,450 to $17,550. Mandatory fees will be included in the overall price of tuition, making the total $18,750.
“We worked hard to keep tuition and fees as low as we could,” University President Pat Long said. “Any increase in tuition that we’re asking for will go to those things that we’re talking about here.”
Long said the main conversations on campus focus on more competitive wages for faculty and staff, facilities and financial support for innovative programs on campus.
Long said she realizes students never will be content with raising tuition figures, but she said it is always a necessary action for a university.
“There’s always going to be a challenge in finding that balance between how much we charge our students and the value of what we’re giving them,” she said.
Vice President for Financial Services Jo Adams said the funds must be increased to continue the quality of education at Baker.
“We’re not in it to make money,” she said. “We’re in it to cover our costs and provide resources for students.
Room and board will go up 7.1 percent from $5,630 to $5,850, based on the price of a double room in a residence hall, while the 14-meal plan will go up 3.4 percent to $3,300. However, Adams said an alternate 10-meal and 10-meal flex plan will be offered beginning in the fall.
“I think that will help students that don’t want as many meals, but there might also be many apartment dwellers or commuters who want to have a meal plan,” she said.
To compensate for higher prices, Adams said the administration is working on raising the discount rate of current and future students.
“We have a commitment to help our students, so we look at institutional aid to make sure our students have the funds to afford Baker,” she said. “We’re talking about a 1 percent increase in aid, but that’s a lot of money. It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
To add to funds for the operation of the university, Adams said the university is increasing the goal of the annual fund from about $700,000 to about $800,000. The annual fund comes from the phone-a-thon and from other fundraising efforts.
“That helps keep the lights on,” Adams said. “It’s to help us keep day-to-day operations going.”
Now that the parameters of the budget have been set, Adams said administrators will be working to create a budget accordingly. The budget will be passed at the BOT’s May 3 meeting.
Long said her main frustration with the budget process has been the timeframe in which the administration has completed the task.
“My gut says to me that the administration cabinet has a very good feel of our budget. It has taken me longer to get my arms around the budget,” she said. “I’m hopeful that next year our budget process will start earlier and we’ll make it more transparent.”
As a result, Long said she has not been able to be as transparent with financial issues as she would have liked.
“People create stories if you’re not open and you’re not communicating,” she said. “If there are going to be stories, I want them to be the truthful stories.”
At last week’s meeting, the BOT had several chances to hear stories from Baker faculty.
Conversations began at a faculty panel in the morning.
“Of the single events I’ve been to at Baker, that was the most amazing,” Long said. “Just to hear their passion for what they do and then to hear the experience students have in the classroom, I was blown away. That was just so rewarding.”
Acting Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Rob Flaherty said the event was a great opportunity for faculty members to share Baker’s academic experience with the trustees.
“An excited board of trustees will catch the passion of the faculty and use it to leverage the important resources to bring us to the next level, which is where we want to go,” Flaherty said.
That night, the BOT had more time to become acquainted with professors at the faculty banquet.
“That was a wonderful event because we were able to recognize the faculty that got tenure and promotion. It was just a good feeling in the room,” Long said. “I really like events that bring everyone together and celebrate what it is we’re about.”
At the event, four professors were awarded tenure and promotions. Tim Buzzell was promoted full professor of sociology. Marc Carter received tenure and was promoted to associate professor of psychology. Associate Professor of Political Science Bruce Anderson and Assistant Professor of Education Karla Wiscombe were granted tenure.
The mission and values of the university were also a topic of conversation between trustees and administrators.
“We talked about the vision and the mission,” Long said. “It’s been a great process of thinking about who we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Long said she will be gaining input through a series of coffee and conversation sessions in March and April. The BOT will pass the final mission and value statement at the May 3 meeting.
Long said her experience with the BOT so far has been positive.
“My overall impression of our board is that they’re a very good board because they know what being a board is about,” she said. “We have so much expertise on our board. If we have a conversation, we can learn so much, and they help us think through ideas and give us input.”