This fall Ball State undergraduates will be paying increased fees as well as new course fee.
In May, the Ball State Board of Trustees passed a 15.2 percent increase in tuition and fees for in-state students and a13.9 percent increase for out-of-state students. The increase is, in part, due to a cut in state funding.
This followed their decision in March to increase room and board by $50 per month.
The increase in fees will include a temporary doubling of the technology fee and a new course fee for undergraduates.
Under the new course fee, students will pay $2 for every 100- and 200-level course, and $4 for every 300- and 400-level course.
"Fundamentally, the [course fees] would be to cover the higher cost for higher-level courses," said Randy Hyman, dean of students.
Hyman said the course fee schedule was chosen over the possibility of higher tuition for juniors and seniors, because it allows more flexibility to adjust cost and keep total cost low.
The technology fee doubled temporarily for the fall.
Also increasing for 2002-03 will be the general fee, the graduate credit hour course fee, the student health fee and others.
"It's a recognition that there are all sorts of costs to running an institution," said Mike Baumgartner, associate commissioner for financial affairs at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. "It does reflect the costs these institutions are incurring. Yeah, it's annoying, but I also think the institutions are responding to what students want."
According to a report presented to the commission on June 14, before the increases, Ball State's tuition and fees were higher than most other state universities, for both in-state and out-of-state students.
"We're all very concerned that we don't price higher education at Ball State out of the reach of prospective students and families," said Randy Hyman, dean of students.
Hyman said that by and large, Ball State is still considered a bargain, and will continue to work to provide a high-quality education at the lowest possible cost.
The crunch is not just affecting Ball State. According to the report, tuition and required fee increases for the 2002-03 school year are considerably higher than they have been over the past five years, largely due to the state's financial crisis.
If temporary fee increases are included, the average tuition and fees for full-time Indiana undergraduates have increased by 82.6 percent over the past 10 years.
At Ball State, tuition and fees for in-state students have increased by 91.6 percent in the same time. For out-of-state students, the 10 year increase has been 112.9 percent.
In spite of the increasing cost, Baumgartner said demand is strong for a college education.
"On the one hand, it looks difficult," Baumgartner said. "On the other hand, more students are enrolling,"
Ball State experienced its highest enrollment in 10 years for the fall semester.
The report indicates that tuition and fees are increasing faster than the mean family income for families of four, which has only increased by 55.9 percent in ten years.
Since last year, the mean family of four has seen only a 3.6 percent increase in income, but the cost of attending Ball State has gone up over 15 percent, the report said.
"For some families on the margin, this may have an impact on where they go," Baumgartner said. "[These increases] are already having a strong impact on the amount of debt students incur."
Baumgartner said the average student who borrows takes out loans for $17,000, and that this has increased by a "staggering amount" over recent years.
Baumgartner added that while the commission is concerned that the expense of higher education is rising faster than family income, thestate can do little during the current budget crisis.
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