Daily Egyptian
Fall '03 Edition
Board to discuss tuition, but not vote
Katie Davis
Daily EgyptianAlthough next year's tuition figures are on the agenda for the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday morning, board chairwoman Molly D'Esposito said the group would not vote on the changes until its February meeting.
This is the first time tuition changes have appeared on the agenda since the figures were proposed in September, but the matter is only scheduled as a notice item. Returning student are facing a 7.1 percent tuition increase for next year at SIUC, while incoming students are looking at a 15.9 percent increase.
D'Esposito has said that in past years, tuition was not discussed until later in the spring, but administrators were pushing for an earlier approval because of the new challenges they faced with tuition increase.
Fall 2004 is the first term for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's truth-in-tuition plan, which guarantees tuition rates for four years of college for incoming freshmen.
"Basically we've been mandated by the legislature starting fall '04 that all incoming students will have the same tuition for four years," D'Esposito said. "But the changes impact the current students more than anyone else because they will continue to be on an incremental increase."
The Board's December meeting is slated to begin about 10:30 a.m. in the Student Center Ballroom B.
SIU was the first Illinois institution to propose tuition figures for next year's truth-in-tuition class, although the University of Illinois system, among others, has already succeeded in adopting increases for next year.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the board will discuss a possible change in the wording to its affirmative action policy.
It is proposed the Board add "SIU recognizes the significance of diversity in understanding the present and better enabling our community to engage in the future" to the beginning of its policy.
The new policy would also add a sentence about ensuring a diverse student body and access to programs. Other changes would include minor differences in word choice.
D'Esposito said the changes would make the policy more contemporary.
"This matter proposes a revision which is intended to remove the language, 'historical patterns,' that isn't legally sufficient," she said.
The board is also expected to award a contract for the electrical portion of the Energy Conservation Project for University Housing to Martin Electric in Johnston City. The contract for window and screen replacement in Schneider Hall would also go to Koch Corporation in Louisville, Ky.
Katie Davis can be reached at: kdavis@dailyegyptian.com
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Last update: Monday, December 8, 2003 at 7:02:47 PM
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