Undergraduate tuition will not increase in Wright State FY16 budget

University budget proposal approved by Board of Trustees

Mark M. Polatajko, vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer, detailed the financial condition of the university and laid out the proposed budget to the trustees and the campus audience.

Mark M. Polatajko, vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer, detailed the financial condition of the university and laid out the proposed budget to the trustees and the campus audience.

Wright State proposed its fiscal 2016 budget to the Board of Trustees as well as faculty, staff and students, a spending plan designed to build on the university’s successes and support its growth.

The budget was presented and detailed June 4 to an audience in the Student Union Apollo Room.

The university proposed an annual operating budget of $311 million, an increase of $6.5 million over last year. It is part of an overall budget of $400 million, which includes money for restricted use that comes from research grants and contracts.

Tuition will not increase for all full-time resident undergraduate students.

The university requested, as part of the budget, a modest, annual tuition increase this fall for graduate, professional and non-resident students of no more than 2.3 percent.

Wright State’s tuition continues to track below the U.S. national average for four-year public universities and is among the lowest for Ohio’s four-year public universities.

“The university budget is about being a good steward. A good steward of our student’s tuition dollars and the state funding we receive. It’s about being a good steward for our future to ensure that students reach the finish of their degrees, that we continue our innovation in research and continue to engage our community,” said Wright State President David R. Hopkins.

Mark M. Polatajko, vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer, detailed the financial condition of the university and laid out the proposed budget to the trustees and the campus audience.

Polatajko also reviewed the successes of the 2015 budget, highlighting how Wright State has saved money and created efficiencies by developing shared service models with other higher education and public institutions and through implementation of energy conservation measures across campus.

In 2015, Wright State also increased its number of scholarships awarded by 13.5 percent with over $3.9 million in new awards given to more than 1,200 Wright State students.

Polatajko (at right) presents the proposed FY16 budget to the Wright State University Board of Trustees (at left).

Polatajko, right, presents the proposed FY16 budget to the Wright State University Board of Trustees, left.

“We are creating the highest value for every dollar we spend,” Polatajko said.

He noted that the opening of the Neuroscience Engineering Collaboration Building and the ongoing construction of the Student Success Center and Classroom Building are helping to drive other campus projects as well as student success and research efforts.

Additionally, more than $5.3 million in capital funding from the state will be used to modernize campus buildings for improved classroom experiences and revitalize space to improve student service.

While higher education institutions face several challenges amid state and federal initiatives focused on delivering quality education and increased value to families, as well as continued decrease in state support of higher education, Wright State University is poised to continue to serve 21st century students.

“The financial condition of the university is strong,” said Polatajko. “The fiscal 2016 budget continues on the path of sound fiscal stewardship and aligns our resources to the relentless execution of our 2013–18 Strategic Plan.”

The trustees voted to approve the fiscal year 2016 budget at the conclusion of the June 4 meeting.

The budget is based in part on expected state funding that has not yet been allocated.

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