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Western's Board
Of Trustees Tables Tuition Hike
Western's Board of Trustees tabled a proposed
13 percent tuition increase for students entering the University
in Fall 2003, expressing its concern that a higher increase may
be required to meet budget needs because of announced reductions
in state support.
President Al Goldfarb said the Bureau of
the Budget has asked Western to reserve $4.8 million from its
FY03 (current year) and FY04 (next year) budgets. The University
and the Illinois Board of Higher Education is working with the
Bureau of Budget to clarify the exact amount of dollars to be
placed in reserve for the current year.
In response to the budget information the
Board delayed any decision on the proposed increase, which would
have applied only to incoming students at Western. Students who
enter Western are guaranteed they will pay the same rate for tuition,
fees and on-campus room and board for their four years of continuous
enrollment.
Students who enrolled at Western in the
1999-2000 year are charged $91 per semester hour. Those students
have experienced an overall increase in costs of 3.18 percent
from FY2000 to the current fiscal year, due to increased costs
in health insurance. Tuition and fee increases for students attending
other Illinois public universities during the same four-year period
increased from 15 to 35 percent. The semester-hour rate for the
Western Fall 2002 entering class is $115.50.
The Board authorized Goldfarb to approve
construction project awards for the construction of a new 182-bed
residence hall in the former Bennett Hall location, remodeling
of Henninger Hall and renovation of East Village apartments. Bids
will be received mid- to late-March. The Bennett Hall location
facility includes double and single suite-style rooms and has
an estimated construction cost of $7.6 million. Improvements to
Henninger Hall and East Village are estimated at $1.3 million
and $500,000, respectively. Funding was approved by the Board
at its Nov. 16, 2001 meeting.
A change in bylaws was approved by the Board
to include domestic partners of employees in University benefits
regarding use of employee leave, educational benefits and other
categories under the jurisdiction of Western's Board. University
benefits provided to employees by Board policy are separate from
those employee benefits determined by the State of Illinois. The
Board also adopted a change in bylaws regarding the accumulation
of additional sick leave by administrative professionals for retirement
service credit.
A collective bargaining agreement with the
technical unit of the University Professionals of Illinois was
approved. The collective bargaining unit represents 44 employees
in various technical positions. The contract maintains the current
salary ranges and provides for a reopener in the event funding
becomes available or another employee group receives an increase.
A contract for the purchase of furniture
for student rooms in residence halls was approved at a cost not
to exceed $872,000 from R.T. London-Norse, Grand Rapids, MI. The
purchase, to be made over two fiscal years, will replace three-drawer
chests, bookcases, desks, lofting beds and organizers in 410 rooms
in Henninger Hall, 590 units in Bayliss Hall and the new residence
hall.
The next scheduled meeting of the Western
Board of Trustees will be Saturday, June 14 at the WIU-Quad
Cities campus in Moline. A conference call meeting on tuition
and budget issues may be held in April at a date to be determined.
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