A 3.5 percent tuition increase, a room and board rate increase and a $5 concert fee all will be voted upon at the Board of Trustees meeting Monday.

The Board meets to decide whether to give the final approval of these items at 8:30 a.m. Monday in the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The Board had originally planned to announce Eastern’s next president at Monday’s meeting, but that announcement has been postponed because further time was needed for discussion.

Minutes from the April 18 Board of Trustees meeting at the University of West Florida, where Eastern presidential candidate John Cavanaugh, vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, is one of three finalists for president, said Eastern has offered Cavanaugh the presidency.

Cavanaugh said last week he is no longer in the running for Eastern’s ninth president.

Two other finalists, Livingston Alexander, vice president for academic affairs at Kean University, and Philip Conn, vice chancellor for special programs at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, are still in the running.

The BOT needs to decide whether to offer the job of Eastern president to one of these two finalists or to restart the search.

Also at Monday’s meeting, the Board will elect its officers and hear tenure recommendations and reports from the Faculty, Staff and Student senates.

The Board also will vote to change its regulations, so students of online courses will pay in-state tuition rates.

Another possible regulation change would clarify the definition of family and medical leave for Eastern employees in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act and establish consistency in application in accordance with federal law.

The change replaces a list of criteria for leave with a paragraph that explains in broad terms what would constitute a reason for family and medical leave and states that those criteria will be applied consistently and fairly.

In other business, interim President Lou Hencken will ask the Board for an additional 3.5 percent tuition increase to generate about $1.3 million for Eastern’s operating budget. The increase would cost undergraduate students an additional $52 per full-time semester.

Hencken requested the increase to cover losses from cuts in state funding.

The Board already approved a 5 percent tuition increase in October 2001.

Also, the Board will consider raising room and board rates for the 2002-2003 academic year. The increase would raise rates for students living in university housing from $117 to $132 per semester, depending upon the meal plan chosen. A student with the 5-Plus meal plan could pay $2,265 per semester, and a student with a 15-Plus meal plan could pay $2,552 per semester.

Each meal plan gives students a specified amount of dining dollars and dining center meal swipes per week.

Students living in University Apartments could see a $10 per month increase, and students living in University Court could pay an increase of $66 to $90 per semester depending on the apartment.

The Board also will vote on the $5 per-semester concert fee, which 1,702 out of 1,871 students voted for.

The fee is expected to provide more concert entertainment at an affordable price.

Both the Student Senate and its Tuition and Fees Review Committee supported the $5 fee.

The board also will vote on Eastern’s reimbursement to the Central Management Services, Eastern’s insurance provider.

In December, Gov. George Ryan asked higher education to give back $45 million in insurance funding back to the state to help the receding budget. Eastern is expected to pay $1.71 million of that amount. The board will vote to approve the amount on Monday.

The university also will look to expand the “S” parking lot east of Andrews Hall by 200 parking spaces. The expansion would offset the loss of parking spaces resulting from the construction of the future Doudna Fine Arts Center and Human Services Center. The project is expected to cost the university more than $250,000.