The cost of a basic room and meal plan at Ball State University will increase approximately 5.0 percent for the 2007-08 school year, as the Board of Trustees approved a housing budget increase of 3.7 percent Friday.
Rate increases vary depending on where a student lives, Tom Kinghorn, vice president for Business Affairs and treasurer, said. A basic, double-occupancy room and board will cost $7,240, an increase of $342 from last year.
The increase will go towards personnel costs, supplies, food and maintenance, according to the board report. Some of the money will also go to paying loans on Park Hall.
"We've done the best job we could trying to find a compromise," Kinghorn said. "This is the kind of food and resident hall facilities students have expressed they want." Student Trustee Danielle Frazier said she believed students understand why the rates increase and that Ball State tries to keep the increase as low as possible.
The 3.7 percent budget increase is not directly reflected in the actually cost of living on campus as not all students will have to pay the rate increase, Kinghorn said. There are 1,812 students enrolled in the Premium Plan who may choose to remain on campus next year and not pay for the increase.
Premium Plan is a program students may sign up for in which they agree to live on campus for two years. In return, they pay the same rate both years and are not affected by budget increases.
Instead, the increase is paid by the approximately 4,200 other students living in Ball State facilities, Kinghorn said. Some housing options will increase less than others, such as University Apartments, which will increase approximately 3 percent, he said.
Trustee Gregory S. Fehribach, who was approved as assistant secretary on Friday, brought up several concerns about the budget increase. They centered around if every part of the increase was necessary and what value Ball State was providing to its students living on campus.
"To students, we need to be vigilant why," he said. "I think a lot of our customers (students) and customer's families will understand why. We aren't just doing it on a whim."
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