The president summarized the budget narrative. He next introduced Carin Bullis, Director of Budgeting.

The president stated that the university’s short-term goal was to stabilize undergraduate enrollment, but that it was too early in the recruitment cycle to know what fall enrollment would look like. He noted that the budget was based on an estimate of 2600 FTE’s.  He will provide enrollment updates. Currently, the university undergraduate enrollment is on track compared to last year and it is anticipated that graduate programs will continue to have increased enrollment. He next reported on Residence Life and possible repurposing of some of the unoccupied housing space. On the expense side, he indicated that there is an increase in expenses around obligations to meet salaries. For a number of years, faculty and staff have
not received pay increases. The university needs to provide retro pay and to cover the increases promised for the coming year. He spoke about the need for increased retention efforts and continued efforts around operational efficiency.

The president asked the Board to consider a number of fee proposals and stated that we have not raised the University fee in years.

J. Bry discussed the budget summary sheet line by line in great detail. M. Fiorentino asked about the debt on the Recreation Center and what is our overall debt?

J. Bry stated that our total debt is $54 million. A discussion ensued. At a future board meeting, debt will be discussed as an agenda item.

There was a discussion regarding the residence halls and modifying more rooms into singles.

J. Bry continued talking about the operating expenses. He talked about returning the 3% back to the departments.

He talked about salaries, fringe benefits and collective bargaining. He stated that by the end of FY23, we need to come to a decision on what to do with the excess housing space. We have adjusted our day enrollment to 2600 FTE and continue to work on longer-term strategies to address the decline in undergraduate enrollment and the associated revenue decline. Accelerated online programs continue to do well and the School of Graduate, Online and Continuing Education is predicted to show growth.

There was a discussion on housing deficits.

There was a discussion on inflationary costs and how this budget plans for this within our contingency funds.

J. Bry discussed our cash flow and noted items within the spreadsheets. The federal money has given us time to right size the day operations to better align with a smaller enrollment target.

The BOT Budget Summary was discussed in detail.

The BOT Fund Summary was discussed in detail.

J. Bry discussed the graduate fee increases in detail. 

The financial were submitted for informational purposes.