The Ball State University’s Board of Trustees met today to push plans for the future and next year.
Village Development Agreement
President Geoffrey Mearns presented the current state of the Village revitalization.
The goals of this revitalization are to create a more vibrant environment, improve connections, attract students and employees to Ball State, retain students to keep on living in Muncie and also to boost Muncie’s economy.
Fairmount Properties was chosen for this project. There will be five main sites for the development.
Site one will be a performing arts center, a best-in-class hotel and a thematic restaurant. The start of site one will be in the fall of 2024 and will wrap up in the fall of 2026.
Site two will have retail, restaurants and apartments. It will also include the relocation of the Barnes and Noble Bookstore. The start and finish of this site is to be determined.
Site three will be an innovation center. The goal is to partner with local organizations to bring the space to life. The start of site three will be in the fall of 2024 and will wrap up in the summer of 2026.
“The vision is to create a facility that will foster innovation and entrepreneurship between our programs as well as organizations and initiatives that are already existing here in the community,” Mearns said.
Site four will have an activity center and an event plaza, with potential commercial development. The site start construction in the fall of 2024 and will wrap up in the summer of 2026.
The fifth and final site will be a housing mix that is focused on targeting price points and rental rates around the area to compete for housing. The first phase of site five is set to start construction in the fall of 2024 and the finishing of phase one is set for the summer of 2026.
Ball State will also apply for the Lilly Endowment College and Community Collaboration Grant with Phase One equaling $190,000 and phase two application due September first would be up to $25 million.
“I am grateful to our trustees for their continued support of this important initiative,” Mearns said. “At Ball State, as outlined in our strategic plan, we have pledged to partner with the community to improve the lives of our neighbors. We anticipate this project serving as a catalyst for other collaborative opportunities with community stakeholders to enhance the quality of life and place in and around Muncie.”
Tuition and Fees
The goal stated by the Board of Trustees is to always continue to strive for affordability for students. Ball State’s tuition is the lowest in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
That being said, there will be a three percent raise in tuition and three percent raise in mandatory fees.
This is going to equal $318 more each semester for the 2023-2024 school year for in-state students, and $842 more for non-residential students.
Room and Board Rates
For the first time in two years, Ball State is changing its room and board rates. They are separating the cost of room and board to be more transparent about what the student is paying for.
Compared to other schools, Ball State is the lowest room and board in the MAC, and only two schools in Indiana have cheaper room and board than Ball State.
There will be three tiers to how room and board is paid for.
Tier one (Residence hall Baker,/Klipper, Park, Kinghorn) rooms include air conditioning and semi-private or private bathrooms. The standard double room rate will increase by three percent.
Tier two (Residence hall Studebaker East & West, Botsford/Swinford, Schmidt/Wilson, North West, Beyerl, Dehority) rooms include air conditioning and pod or community-style bathrooms. The standard double room rate will increase by 2.5 percent.
Tier three (Residence hall Woodworth, Elliot, Howick/Williams) rooms are rooms that are not air-conditioned and have community-style bathrooms. The standard double room rate will increase by 1.4 percent.
All meal plans are also increasing by three percent.
Vehicle Registration and Parking Fees Effective Fall 2023
Parking has not increased at Ball State in four years. General Faculty/Staff Commuter lot passes will still be $100.
The housing surface lots will have an increase of $15 to $265.
The commuter-restricted lots will go up $24 to a price of $364.
The student center garage will be $105 cheaper due to the availability seen last year, the price this year will be $364.
The garages on McKinley and New York and other restricted passes will stay the same in their cost.
Salary and Wage Plan for the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year
There will be an increase of three percent to the salary pools for all eligible employees.
The salary pools distributed will be at least 70 percent merit. This will be the largest salary increase since the 2014-15 year.
2023 Days of Beneficence
The last thing on the agenda was the Days of Beneficence.
“We are in this enviable position because of the dedication of our faculty and staff, the people who come to work every day, all across our campus,” Mearns said.
Mearns also said that today Ball State is stronger and better than three years ago. He said the Trustees owe a great deal of credit to the over 3,000 people who work at Ball State.
The 2023 Days of Beneficence give those staffers a few extra days off.
The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Sept. 15.
Contact Elijah Poe with comments at elijah.poe@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ElijahPoe4.
