Eastern Kentucky University's Board of Regents has approved a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The board also heard details of a proposed statewide student fee to help meet campus facility needs.
The $358 million budget for EKU represents less than a 1 percent increase over the current year's spending plan. The board had a lengthy discussion about student enrollment.
EKU President Michael Benson says student numbers are not firm, so departments are being asked to exercise caution in spending.
“We’ve asked everybody to hold back and sequester funds until we know a little bit better how our enrollment looks," Benson said. "It’s not a cut; it’s just a kind of hold back.”
Benson says those funds could be released later on. Also, the Eastern president advised the board about plans to pitch a statewide student per-credit-hour fee to state lawmakers.
“It’s not like it’s a fee endemic to one campus or another," he said. "It’s system-wide and then you collect it on every campus and you keep those funds on each campus, and then you apply it for projects on your campus.”
The idea would be to use the funds to address capital construction needs long-term on individual campuses. Benson says it might involve a dollar-for-dollar match with state dollars.
