Ball State University students will experience an average increase of 3.1 percent for room and board rates for the Fall Semester, based on increased food costs, operation costs and the July 24 minimum wage increase, Randy Howard, associate vice president of finance and assistant treasurer, said.
The Board of Trustees passed the increase Friday, raising the room and board costs from $7,598 to $7,932 per year.
The raise marks the lowest increase in 13 years. Since 2006, room and board rates have increased 5 percent per year.
Howard said all increases are not the same however. Incoming freshman will bare the largest rate increase at 4.4 percent and university-owned apartments receive a 3.4 percent increase, he said. The more than 2,000 students on Ball State's premium plan and off-campus students will not be affected the increase, he said.
Howard said the university is well aware of the economic times, but is also trying to give the students what they want.
"Revenue of [Housing and Dining] has to equal their expenditures and as part of the budget we have to give an estimate of what we think those items will do in upcoming years," Howard said. "We did the calculations and this was the lowest rate increase we could put into effect."
Howard said he believes Housing and Dining has been tentative to the student's wants and needs. The department has added 110 operating hours to various locations across campus based on student request, he said, and the extra expense must be funded.
Student employment costs, a $2.2 million dollar item in Ball State's budget, will increase along with the minimum wage. The federal wage increase from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour needed to be compensated for, he said.
Student trustee Kellie Conrad said she made the decision to vote for the increase based on an informational gathering prior to the Board of Trustee's meeting. During the meeting, Conrad said she had a lot of her questions answered and felt convinced she made the right decision.
"What I have seen and heard from students is that they want things to be better, better and better," Conrad said. "They can't have higher standards without paying higher rates. [An increase] is what we have to do."
Despite the economic times, Ball State has been able to keep their increases lower than surrounding colleges, Howard said. Purdue University and Indiana University raised their room and board costs six percent and 5.7 percent, respectively, for the 2009-2010 school year.
Christopher Geldes, a sophomore actuarial science major, said he thinks it's good that Ball State is trying to keep costs affordable for dorm living. He said he never had any problems in the dorms and didn't mind paying more.
But, not all students are as optimistic about the future.
Despite the smaller increase, sophomore telecommunications major Steven Travelbee said in the grand scheme of everything, he's going to be in debt after college anyway.
"Still, paying more money is paying more money."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
