Ball State's Board of Trustees approved a 4 percent increase in the allocation of most student fees during its meeting on Friday.
The board also approved a larger increase for intercollegiate athletics, student activities and renewal and replacement fees, which are used to improve campus buildings not paid for by the state, such as Emens Auditorium and the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
"We had increasing demand, and we wanted to make sure these programs had enough support to add to the vibrancy of the student experience," said Randy Howard, vice president of Business Affairs and treasurer, during a presentation.
Howard reported that the employee health care budget is $7.5 million over the amount expected to finish the fiscal year. Last month, he reported a $8 million overage; the difference comes from extra drug rebates that were higher than anticipated.
Howard said the main reason for the shortfall is because there have been more medical visits and "catastrophic and major claims" than officials had anticipated. In fact, claims were $4.2 million higher than expected.
The university treasurer suggested 10 ways to keep costs low while maintaining high standard of coverage. High on his list were tobacco cessation and promoting healthy lifestyles.
"We tried to consider things that would reduce expenses to take pressure off the premium increases," he said.
The proposed changes could mean a net savings of $3.7 million, just over half of what the university needs to make up by June 30. The other part comes from an increase in deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, meaning employees and students alike will be paying more next year.
"If we didn't have to make any changes, that would be great," Howard said. "But we have to make some changes, and so we tried to pick the ones that were more reasonable."
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