The EIU Student Senate received a presentation on proposed housing and dining rate increases for fiscal year 2027 at its meeting on Wednesday including an increase of 5% for room and board. Last year, the proposed rate increase was 4%.

Interim Executive Director of Housing and Dining Jeremy Alexander presented about the proposed increases. If approved, the new rates would take effect at the beginning of the fiscal year on June 1.

According to Alexander, housing and dining is solely funded by its customers, which are primarily composed of the students who live on campus. Housing and dining does not receive money from the state.

Room and board makes up 80% of housing and dining funding. University Apartments, the food court, camps or nonresidents who have a meal plan make up 20%.

The updated rates were decided on by the bond revenue committee, which has representatives from Taylor Hall, Pemberton Hall, Lawson Hall, Stevenson Hall, Andrews Hall and Ford Hall. The committee has two advisers.

Currently, there are three meal swipe plans: 10, 14 and unlimited.

The 10-meal plan would go from $1,884 to $1,978, an increase of $94, the 14-meal plan would go from $2,258 to $2,371, an increase of $113, and the unlimited plan would go from $2,681 to $2,815, a $134 increase. The prices reflect the cost of a meal plan for one semester.

The total amount generated from meal plans for the 2025-26 school year was $7,482,223.

The rate for rooms is currently $3,829 and is set to increase to $4,020, a 5% increase of $191. The room rate reflects the cost for one semester, and it applies to physical singles, doubles and triples.

Residents living in a double as a single, deluxe double or triple as a double are subject to an additional fee per semester that varies based on room upgrade type.

The fee per semester for residents living in a double room as a single is set to receive a $150 increase. This would put the double as a single upgrade fee at $2,500 per school year, up from $2,200. The increase is intended to bring Eastern’s room upgrade fee up to the state average for other universities, Alexander said.

In total, room rates generated $12,906,027 for the 2025-26 school year.

The total income generated from room and board when adjusted for room upgrades was $21,784,915 for the 2025-26 school year.

The total revenue figure is about half of what it would be if all beds were occupied.

There are 3,676 beds on campus, but only 1,829 of them were occupied in fall 2025.

Revenue generated from room and board rates is used to pay for housing and dining’s operational costs.

Alexander said the rate increases were developed based on several factors, including increases in staff stipends, commodity increases, technology costs and contractual agreements.

The total payroll for all housing and dining employees, including students and nonstudents, was budgeted at $8,886,739 for fiscal year 2026.

The total housing and dining payroll is projected to increase to $9,103,543 for fiscal year 2027, an increase of 2.4%.

Contracts with the Charleston Fire Department, Simplex and Getz were budgeted at $192,473 for fiscal year 2026. These costs are projected to increase to 203,010 in fiscal year 2027, a 5.47% increase.

Insurance was budgeted $429,972 in fiscal year 2026, and that cost is projected to decrease to $396,030 for fiscal year 2027, a 7.89% decrease.

The elevator maintenance cost was budgeted $102,230 this fiscal year and is projected to decrease to $83,248, an 18.57% decrease.

The trash removal cost was budgeted $126,647 this fiscal year and is projected to increase to $292,575, a 131% increase.

The Renewable Energy Center was budgeted $5,330,000 for the current fiscal year, and that number is projected to rise to $5,600,000, a 5.07% increase.

Financial advisor costs are projected to go down from $20,397 to $19,674, a 3.54% decrease.

Indirect salaries paid through the housing and dining budget include business operations, auditing, facilities planning and management and university police. Indirect salaries were budgeted $3,377,581 for fiscal year 2026.

The only indirect salary budget with a projected increase is FPM, from $2,254,875 to $2,367,619.

The fixed costs total is projected to go from $3,377,581 to $3,490,325, an increase of 3.34%.

Expenses for dining services are projected to increase by 3% across the board, including food costs, commodities, contractual items and sales tax and travel.

Food costs were budgeted $3,712,461 for the current fiscal year, and that number is projected to increase to $3,823,835 for fiscal 2027.

Commodity expenses are projected to rise from $466,883 in fiscal 2026 to $480,889 in fiscal 2027.

Miscellaneous equipment, supplies and repairs were budgeted $3,817,071 for fiscal 2026, and that expense is projected to increase to $4,007,925 in fiscal 2027, an increase of 5%.

There are added costs that were not present last fiscal year, including $300,000 for scholarships and $270,000 for projects.

The Student Senate will vote on a resolution to recommend the increases at its next meeting.

In order to be approved, the housing and dining budget must be ratified by the Student Government Association, the President’s Council and the Board of Trustees, according to the website for Eastern’s budget office.

Jason Coulombe can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].