The Indiana Commission for Higher Education is recommending a $134 million appropriation for the 2017-18 school year. The request is 6 percent higher than the $126 million the university received for the current academic school year.
The $134 million would be a part of ICHE’s $156 million appropriation for Ball State in 2017-18, which includes $2.7 million toward repairs and rehabilitation and $7.5 million toward line items.
The appropriation is performance based, and funding is awarded based off of the number of degrees awarded, at-risk student (Pell Grant recipients) degree completion, high impact degrees (STEM) completed and on-time graduation rates. In the 2014-15 school year, Ball State awarded 3,183 bachelor’s degrees — 36 more than the previous school year. Additionally, fifty more bachelor’s degrees were awarded in high impact areas in 2014-15 than in 2013-14 and on-time graduation rate increased by roughly five percent.
In order to further the progress of Ball State's entrepreneurial agenda, the university is requesting $5 million from the line items request to help create interactive learning spaces, such as those in Teachers College, Burkhardt Building and Robert Bell Building. The $5 million is slated to be dispersed over the next two years, according to the state biennial budget.
Also included in Ball State’s biennial budget request is an $87.5 million capital request for the second phase of the university's Health Professions Facilities.
According to the Legislative Request Executive Summary, the new building will provide students with educational opportunities in "cutting-edge environments" that simulate the "worlds in which they will work after graduation." For STEM majors, this means updated lab technology and a new facility — something students haven't seen since Cooper was built in the '60s.
This facility will be directed toward students majoring in chemistry, biology and physiology and will feature modern teaching and research labs and updated equipment. The university also plans to focus on four other capital projects, including expanding and renovating the College of Architecture and Planning, renovating the Whitinger Business Building, renovating and expanding instruction spaces in the Department of Theatre and Dance and replacing campus utility tunnels and infrastructure.
The university has requested capital funds for all five building and projects, which totals $156.5 million.
Read More
Local Muncie flower shop continues family tradition
By Mira Bloomer / 1 hours agoLocated in the heart of downtown Muncie, Normandy Flower Shop has been a beloved local shop since the 1930s, see what tradition has lasted.
Benny Buddies Crafts and Chat
By Stephanie Weaver / 2 hours agoOn Tuesday, Ball State’s Benny Buddy’s Club hosted a crafts and chat event for students.
Tickets for ‘A Conversation with David Letterman and Caitlin Clark’ are sold out
By Staff Reports / 5 hours agoA stand-by line for tickets will be available the night of the event, Dec 2.
