Daniella Tebib
News Editor
The Board of Regents held a special meeting via Zoom on Friday, April 24, to discuss tuition, housing and dining rates, the federal stimulus package, the updated budget, enrollment efforts and state legislation.
Tuition, Housing and Dining Rates Update
The board unanimously approved the authorization of the tuition rates for the 2020-21 academic year with no increase in tuition or mandatory fees.
While tuition rates will not be increased, housing and dining rates will see an increase. The board approved a 0.5 percent increase for housing rates with 7-2 vote. Faculty Regent Melony Shemberger and student Regent Trey Book opposed the motion. The revenue will generate an additional $73,509 to be used for facilities, furniture, bedding and deferred maintenance.
The board also approved a 3.09 percent increase in meal plans, but no increase in flex plans with a 7-2 vote. Shemberger and Book also opposed this motion. The increase is compliant with the Sodexo contract agreement.
Federal Stimulus Package Update
Jackie Dudley, vice president of finance, said the University received notice that $3.135 million out of the $6.2 million from the federal stimulus package for students was posted to its bank account on Friday, April 24.
The University is working on its guidelines about how these funds will be allocated to students. Dudley said while guidelines from the federal government are fairly flexible, the Department of Education has made several suggestions. Dudley said the Department of Education prefers for the aid to go to students who are eligible for the Pell Grant and have specific guidelines for what the money can be used for, including expenditures related to COVID-19 such as food, shelter, health care, child care and technological needs.
President Bob Jackson said about 34 percent of Murray State’s students are eligible for the Pell Grant. The University will also look at students who have lost their jobs and who were eligible for the Pell Grant in Fall 2019, but not in Spring 2020. Jackson also said not every student will get aid from the federal stimulus package.
To provide funding to students, the University is working on a type of application that a committee will assess for students to apply through by the beginning of May. Dudley said the University is looking to set a priority deadline for applications for the end of the academic year for the first wave of checks, but the dates have not been finalized.
To read more about the federal stimulus packages, click here.
Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget Update
Dudley said the University is expected to lose almost $7.4 million because of loss of operations, revenues and expenditures. However, because of the pandemic, Dudley said the University is expecting to save about $2.6 million compared to the $1.1 million the University had in the balance last year. The positive balance will be put towards the $7.4 million shortfall.
The University will also be receiving $3.135 million from the federal stimulus package to offset any costs related to COVID-19. Dudley said with the $2.6 million, the federal stimulus package and other funds, they still expect to be around $1.6 million below the budget. Because of the shortfall, the University plans to tap into its rainy day fund and reserves to offset the costs.
Because of COVID-19, the University chose the option of prorating student accounts according to the exact number of days students were not on campus. Credits were issued to student accounts, and federal financial aid dollars were refunded to students accordingly.
Scholarship credits from Murray State have also been applied to some housing and dining fees, resulting in a return of $500,000 with a net impact of housing and dining credits of $4 million, heavily impacting fiscal year 2020.
The pandemic has also forced all summer camps to be canceled, including ones hosted on Murray State’s campus. Because of the cancellation, the University is losing an estimated revenue of $98,000.
The contract between Sodexo and the University is revenue-based and has also been affected by the pandemic. Since campus dining services are closed aside from Fast Track, no revenue is being generated.
Dudley said because of the contractual obligation the University has to Sodexo, the University is expected to pay $663,000 in net expenditures for this summer after David Looney, executive director for auxiliary services, negotiated with them.
The University’s partnership with SSC was also impacted which will result in some savings from their contract as costs will be less. Dudley said early estimates show it will cost about a third less than what was expected.
About half of the employees that they originally intended were brought on and operations have been able to run more efficiently as there are not many people on campus. They are also able to work more in the residential halls because they are no longer occupied.
Dudley also said they are expecting a loss in revenue of about $434,000 through June 30 because of the closure of the bookstore.
$309,000 will be lost from the athletic department and the NCAA has notified the athletic department of its expected loss in revenue of $542,000 which the department depends on for their operations and budgeted expenditures. Dudley said director of athletics Kevin Saal and his team are working to adjust their fiscal year 2021 budget to account for the lost revenue.
Dudley also said there is a projected loss of $450,000 in interest through the rest of this fiscal year from investments made with the state.
The University has also had to put funds toward instructional costs, faculty stipends, supplies and materials as courses have been moved online.
The cancellation of study abroad programs has also seen a significant loss in revenue and reimbursements as many programs were cut short and students were forced to purchase flights home to the United States. Jackson said the University was able to bring all students who were studying abroad home as of a few weeks ago.
Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget Update
Dudley said they are not expecting an increase in the KERS employer contribution rate, meaning it will remain at 49.47 percent until June 30, 2021. There will also be no increase in employer contribution for the health and wellness plan in 2021.
Dudley also said they do not plan on giving out any employee pay raises, overtime will be minimized and all open positions will be frozen. Any positions that need to be filled will be required to obtain approval from Dudley and Jackson.
Recruitment, Retention and Enrollment Updates
Comparing April of this year to April 2019, the fall 2020 preliminary numbers are showing a small decrease of less than one percent with 15 less students enrolled for fall 2020. Don Robertson, vice president for student affairs, said the University is working hard to close this gap and increase enrollment through its Recapture Campaign where faculty and staff contact students who have been admitted, but have not registered yet.
Robertson said the number of first-time freshmen applicants and admissions for fall 2020 are comparatively higher than those of fall 2019. First-time freshmen are up 7.6 percent.
There has also been an increase in one of the University’s main focus areas, an 18-county region. However, in other areas in Kentucky, applications and admissions have decreased a little or are the same as past years.
Robertson also said Summer Orientation registration numbers are another good indicator for enrollment numbers. Compared to students who registered for Summer O in April 2019, registrations for Summer Orientations for this year have increased by a little over 4 percent, which is 59 more students than last April. Summer Orientations are set to take place virtually with an additional event in August.
Transfer students and graduate students have shown an increase as well. Robertson said one area of concern is international students because embassies are not giving out student visas right now. Before the pandemic, Robertson said international enrollment was positive.
Housing applications for new students have also increased by almost 6 percent. However, because of COVID-19, the University had to close campus, so campus visits have decreased. In place of campus visits, students can make an appointment with the virtual Zoom visit program. Students can also take a virtual tour. Students can take a virtual tour or schedule an appointment here.
To continue the University’s recruitment efforts, Robertson said they developed a specific marketing campaign for the summer. The total number of registrants as of press time compared to April 2019 has increased about 8 percent and credit hours have also increased. However, undergraduate numbers have decreased by 1.6 percent, but the graduate numbers are up by 33.3 percent, showing an increase for in-state and out of state students. Based on this information, Robertson said he expects a high summer enrollment.
While other universities have extended the deadline for scholarships acceptance, Robertson said the general scholarship application deadline will remain May 1.
“We are aggressively calling students, we are reminding them of the deadline, but we feel if a student is not going to come, then we can move on and offer that scholarship to an alternate student which could make a difference in them coming to Murray State versus going to another institution,” Robertson said.
State Budget and Legislative Session Update
Jordan Smith, director of governmental and institutional relations, said several pieces of legislation in Murray State’s favor were passed despite it being a tough legislative session.
Senate Resolution 277 was passed resulting in the confirmation of Regent Leon Owens’ appointment. Read more about the confirmation here.
The state budget was also passed. Many items within the budget were not passed because of COVID-19, but the KERS pension rate freeze was.
Smith also said two agriculture-related bills were also passed. The first piece of legislation Smith said was passed was House Bill 214 regarding veterinarian contract spaces which secures the current veterinary slots of Kentucky’s students and relationship with Auburn University. House Bill 236 which allows the Breathitt Veterinary Center Lab to be used by the Department of Agriculture for hemp testing was also passed.
Smith said Senate Bill 115 was also passed regarding tuition waivers which will waive 150 graduate credit hours for fostered and adopted children regardless of objection from Murray State and other universities.
The next Board of Regents meeting will take place in June. To watch the full video, click here.