Board of Trustees meeting set for Friday afternoon

Corryn Brock, News Editor

The Board of Trustees will vote on a potential tuition increase during its meeting Friday. The board will meet at 1 p.m. to begin discussing reports, action items and information items.

If approved, the increase will follow several years of increases.

These increases do not impact current students due to Illinois law mandating tuition for new undergraduate Illinois residents stay the same for four continuous academic years.

The action item proposes an increase that would charge incoming undergraduate students who are residents of Illinois in the fiscal year 2022 $315.74 per semester hour.

Undergraduate students who are residents of Illinois and came in the fiscal year 2021 are charged $308.04, those who came in the fiscal year 2020 are charged $302, those who came in the fiscal year 2019 are charged $296.00 and those who came in the fiscal year 2018 are charged $292.

For undergraduate students who are not residents of Illinois that come in the fiscal year 2022, they could be charged $394.68 per semester hour if the item is approved.

Undergraduate students who are not residents of Illinois and came in the fiscal year 2021 are charged $385.05, those who came in the fiscal year 2020 are charged $378, those who came in the fiscal year 2019 are charged $370 and those who came in the fiscal year 2018 are charged $365.

Incoming graduate students who are Illinois residents would see a $7.82 increase from $312.63 to $320.45 and those who are not Illinois residents would see a $18.76 increase from $750.31 to $769.07 if the item is approved.

It is noted in the item that the potential increase would not impact Eastern being the university with the lowest total attendance cost in Illinois. The increase would begin in the Fall 2021 semester.

The board will also vote on housing and dining rate increases.

The potential increases are as follows:

7 meal plan option, $4,550 to $4,677 (+$127)

10 meal plan option, $4,753 to $4,886 (+$133)

12 meal plan option, $4,932 to $5,070 (+$138)

15 meal plan option, $5,131 to $5,274 (+$143)

Unlimited meal plan option, $5,415 to $5,566 (+$151)

Adjusted usage charges would remain $850 per semester to use a double as a single and $450 per semester to use a triple as a double.

Summer room and board has a proposed 2.8% increase.

Four weeks in a single room would increase $30 from $1,056 to $1,086 and four weeks in a double room would increase $24 from $844 to $868.

Six weeks in a single room would increase $44 from $1,583 to $1,628 and six weeks in a double room would increase $35 from $1,266 to $1,301.

Eight weeks in a single room would increase $59 from $2,112 to $2,171 and four weeks in a double room would increase $47 from $1,685 to $1,732.

University Apartments and University Court will not see increases aside from summer rates in University Court which could see an across the board $90 increase for all room options and no increase for adjusted usage.

The board will also vote on student fee adjustments for the union/bond revenue fee, athletic fee, Lantz/O’Brien Operations fee, student recreation operations fee and grant-in-aid fee.

The possible increases are as follows:

Union/Bond Revenue Fee; $29.82 to $33.78 (+$3.96)

Athletic Fee; $13.00 to $13.78 ($0.78)

Lantz/O’Brien Operations Fee; $5.50 to $6.88 (+$1.38)

Student Recreation Operations Fee; $5.79 to $6.79 (+$1)

Grant-in-Aid Fee; $17.05 to $18.07 ($1.02)

A collective bargaining agreement for the Teamsters will be voted on as well. The Teamster will receive a one percent across the board increase and a one-time sign on bonus of $250. 

The total cost of the increase is $8,059. 

A deferred compensation plan will also be voted on so the university is compliant with Illinois pension code. According to the state’s deferred compensation plan, the plan is “a supplemental retirement plan for State employees.”

The board will also vote on a four-year contract for recently hired Head Men’s Basketball Coach Marty Simmons. His base salary will be $165,000 with the ability to receive up to $35,000 in additional compensation depending on the revenue generated by the team.

Tenure recommendations will also come to the board for a vote. Those up for tenue are:

Holly Farley, Assistant Professor and Interim Chair, School of Nursing

Gabriel Grant, Assistant Professor, School of Technology

Cliff Karnes, Assistant Professor and Chair, Department of Educational Leadership

Heidi Ramrattan, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences

Jennifer L. Stevens, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology

Nan Wang, Assistant Professor, School of Business

A chair, vice chair secretary and member pro tem for the board will also be elected during the meeting. Vote will be done via secret ballot.

During his report, University President David Glassman will speak on facilities projects and the undergraduate finance portfolio team.

 

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at cebrock@eiu.