State Technical College Board of Regents at their June 26 meeting approved tuition rates for the fall semester at the maximum available to the school. As a result, students next fall will see an increase of $5.25 per credit hour.

State Tech VP of Finance Jenny Jacobs explained the maximum allowable increase was approved in January, and the final calculation based on a bevy of factors led to the rate of $181 per credit hour.

Jacobs said course fees have yet to be determined due to the inclusive access portion, which provides students access to online reading materials for classes, as opposed to the traditional purchase of books.

“We see a much better utilization rate,” said Jacobs, noting that only 50% to 60% of students buy books, while almost all students take advantage of inclusive access. “It’s much cheaper for the students, and we actually see a bump in

revenue. I’m anxious to see what that looks like.”

Enrollment is on a path to exceed records again this year.

Vice President of Student Affairs Chris Bowser said as of the meeting, 1,133 newly admitted students are enrolled for the fall, 600 second-year students are registered to return, and there are an anticipated 120 dual credit-enrolled students. All told, that’s three more students than the enrollment goal of 1,850.

Currently, the college is up 36 students over last year, and Bowser said he is cautiously optimistic State Tech would remain above the stated enrollment goal.

However, with COVID-19, the school is a little higher in terms of studentswhohavecommitted but not yet enrolled. State Tech’s historic summer melt rate is 8%, but is currently trending at 13%.

“I think we have funnels to support adding growth,” said Dr. Browser, noting in the two weeks previous to the June 26 meeting, 39 applications hadbeenreceivedfromnew prospective students. “We

are seeing interest from brand-new people.”

Last year, 1,724 students were enrolled in the fall semester.

Weekly communication with current students helps keep them informed about upcoming events and how school will look in the fall.

COVID-19 certainly will be a factor with regard to enrollment, and Dr. Bowser said State Tech is positioned well,consideringitslocation and a safe environment.

In October of last year, discussions began about student housing and keeping it fresh and up to date.

“We have a lot of new apartments popping up all over town, so we wanted to keep our rooms relevant, and current for prospective students,” said Dr. Browser.

Overthelasttwosummers, three cottages have received facelifts, he added, and all HVAC units have been replaced. Dr. Browser said furniture in the dorms was also upgraded, with lofted beds installed as opposed to bunk beds. That will provide

13 feet of social distancing as the two beds are on opposite sides of the room.

“We’re really excited about these,” said Dr. Browser of the metal beds that have a 25-year warranty.

Delivery is expected by Aug. 1 in time for the fall semester.

Because on-campus classes may experience disruption due to COVID-19, regents approved a revised calendar for the fall semester that includes an Aug. 23 student orientation, an end to the first half of the semester in early October, and completion of in-person classes prior to Thanksgiving. Online finals will begin by Dec. 15.

Provided everything goes according to plan, classes in the fall will begin Aug. 24. Winter break will begin Dec. 16.

In financial news, regents adopted a $22,998,230 operating budget for the 2020-21 school year that began July 1, well below the FY20 budget which totaled $26,843,278 after revisions

were approved. Unrestricted budget

revenues anticipate $13,835,815 in tuition and fees, up from $13,257,777 in FY 20, state appropriations of $5,261,291 ($6,530,371, a difference of $1,269,080, which includes $500,000 in deferred maintenance, and $769,080 in core appropriation cuts), federal grant funding of $1,172,064 (66,931), private gifts of $685,000 ($180,404), state grants $1,109,479 ($1,052,407), sales and service $601,531 ($993,990), interest income of $125,000 ($112,641), and other sources $207,950 ($174,556).

Expenditures approved by the board include $11,578,672 in instructional costs ($11,093,420), academic support in the amount of $1,034,575 ($773,992), student services amounting to $1,877,705 ($1,710,694), institutional support - $3,596,153 ($4,411,009), J1 implementationintheamount of $468,981 ($139,552),

operations/maintenance - $1,654,986 ($1,720,338), capital appropriations - $1,505,000 ($1,092,312), scholarships/fellowships - $295,000 ($315,307), debt retirement - $334,635 ($335,102), and transfers of $652,522 ($447,934).

The board approved budget revisions for the FY 20 school year. Unrestricted budget revenues and expenditures were higher by $503,244, coming in at $26,843,278, compared to the anticipated $26,340,034 approved last year.

Revenues from tuition and fees came in at $13,257,777, which is $813,333 more than anticipated last year, with credit hours estimated at 10% actually coming in at 18%.

Sales and service totaled $993,990, which is $275,359 more than anticipated. The largest shortfall came from private gifts, which were originally budgeted at $607,784 but revised to $180,404. State appropriations for the UTC project were down just $25,799 from the budged amount of $1.5 million.

The auxiliary budget wasrevised from $3,497,328 to $3,630,964, an increase of $133,636.