The UCA Board of Trustees approved the budget for fiscal year 2011 during its May 7 meeting. The budget includes the implementation of phase 2 of the classified pay plan and pay raises for non-classified employees and faculty.
The conservative budget reflects the $2.3 million in state cuts that occurred during the 2009-10 budget year.
The rebuilding of the university’s reserves was also a priority in the fiscal year 2011 budget, said Diane Newton, vice president of finance and administration. The goal is to build up an eight to nine percent reserve, which will take some time.
The Phase 2 implementation of the classified pay plan will only affect 17 percent of the classified employees, Newton said. Others received their salary change in Phase 1 implemented for this fiscal year. The state currently has said no increases for classified employees.
The budget includes a proposed 2.75 percent pool for pay raises for non-classified and faculty, some of which will be across the board raises with the remainder for merit and equity, she said.
Tuition and fees make up 42.39 percent of the total revenue for the university. State appropriations represent about 35.64 percent, according to the budget.
The board also approved an increase in tuition and fees for the 2010-11 academic year. A $1 per credit hour tuition increase approved by the board will generate approximately $285,000. A $3 per credit hour increase in library fee, recommended by the students and faculty, will help support library resources and services as well as extend library hours of operation, Newton said.
Revenue from the $3 per credit hour increase in the athletic fee will pay salaries currently being funded from instruction and will free up funds for use in the academic areas. A portion of the athletic fee revenue will also cover additional costs of scholarship increases and fund across the board salary increases for non-classified employees and faculty.
The tuition and fee increase equates to a 3.1 percent increase for tuition and fees for undergraduate students and a 2.6 percent increase for graduate students. The percentage increase is near, if not, the lowest compared with other institutions within the state.
“It’s not what we want to do, but it is what we have to do,” Newton said. “We feel like we’re asking for the minimal.”
It is the university’s goal to sustain its strong academic programs; maintain the small student-to-faculty ratio; and enhance the services provided to students, said UCA President Allen C. Meadors.
“While we do not like raising our tuition and fees, we know the reduction of state appropriations and the rising cost of operation requires us to do so in order to maintain the quality academic programs to meet the diverse needs of our students,” Meadors said.