Juggling mounting concerns about declining student enrollment and residence hall occupancy, the University of Toledo’s Board of Trustees approved its 2022-2023 budget at a meeting this week.
“I will say it’s probably been one of the most difficult budget developments that we’ve had in recent years,” Sabrina Taylor, associate vice president of budget and planning, said on Wednesday.
The budget is structured around an anticipated 7 to 8 percent decrease in overall enrollment. Ms. Taylor said that originally the predicted decline was 5 to 6 percent, but the figure was further adjusted after UT received preliminary numbers for the upcoming fall semester.
Revenue from student tuition and fees in 2021-2022 was lower than the $252 million that last year’s budget anticipated — totaling $236 million as of May 31. Students also enrolled for nearly 3,300 fewer credit hours than expected.
Also meeting this week was the Bowling Green State University’s Board of Trustees, which on Thursday approved the school's budget for the new year. The budget for fiscal year 2023 plans a projected increase in net funds available to $806,037, which is up from the $784,323 in revenue generated from the 2022 budget.
“I think what that budget represents is an investment in people,” BGSU President Rodney Rogers said. “What you see is a [salary] increase for faculty and staff, what you see is an investment in academic programs, the new doctorate of physical therapy and nursing, a commitment to our students in terms of investing in a program we call ‘Life Design’ which is really a holistic approach to undergraduate education.”
The BGSU budget for employee salaries and benefits is expected to jump by $6.6 million, according to the approved proposal. The 2023 budget will also include a $7.9 million increase in funds applied to operating expenses. The budget allots for $206.8 million from tuition and general fees, a 2.3 percent increase from 2022.
BGSU trustees were told that the main campus’ projected enrollment is expected to increase from fall of 2021 into fall of 2022, with a total head count increasing from 14,468 in fall of 2021 to 14,543 in fall of 2022.
UT campus data
At UT, trustees also were presented numbers on the number of students living in the school’s dorms.
At UT in 2021-22 residence halls were also at just 63 percent occupancy, while the number of meal plans purchased was 2,300 instead of the 4,100 purchased pre-pandemic. The 2022-2023 budget accounts for a continued net loss in these auxiliary areas.
“We’ve really continued to struggle just as we did last year as it relates to getting students back on campus,” said Matt Schroeder, whose duties include serving as UT’s chief financial officer. “The students are a little hesitant or reluctant after the pandemic, or as the pandemic returns. We have felt that.”
Tuition and fee revenue for 2022-2023 is budgeted at about $236.1 million, which factors in additional increases in the price of a UT education.
At UT, while current students with tuition guarantees will not notice changes, incoming UT freshmen will face a 4.6 percent tuition increase. In-state students matriculating this fall will pay $5,730 instead of $5,478 in tuition and fees per semester.
Most graduate programs will experience a 2 percent tuition hike. However, in high-demand areas such as pharmacy and law, this increase can be up to 7 percent. The cost for a per-semester student parking permit will increase from $129 to $133.
Strong performance by UTMC
The budget’s architects expect that the strong performance of the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio hospital, will compensate for losses on the university side.
This year’s budget includes a structural deficit of $4.3 million in terms of university operations, which executive director of marketing and communications Meghan Cunningham said is an effect of the enrollment decline. A “mission support” transfer of $2.5 million from UTMC to the university is included to help offset this.
“A couple of years ago, we were all concerned about the future of the hospital,” UTMC chief financial officer Troy Holmes said. He referenced the financial downturns that had led UT to consider selling UTMC, as well as the “double whammy” of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Starting in late [FY] ‘21, early [FY] ‘22, we really started to recover,” Mr. Holmes said. “We’re all very pleased with the direction that the hospital is going.”
In projections through the end of June, UTMC appears to have exceeded the 2021-2022 budget’s overall operating revenue prediction by over $25 million. Numbers for clinic visits, surgeries, admissions, and kidney transplants are all trending upwards, Mr. Holmes said.
Accompanying a 5 percent increase in the price of their medical services, UTMC also hopes to increase their patient volume by 4.5 percent in the next year. They anticipate $284,888,076 in patient services revenue alone, which accounts for 35 percent of all budgeted revenue for UT.
Despite these promising numbers for UTMC’s continued recovery, newly appointed Faculty Senate President Gary Insch acknowledged that overall “the budget outlook is not as rosy as we all hoped for.”
Although overall revenues and expenses for the past year did not differ significantly from the 2021-2022 budget, UT’s net assets declined by $21 million. Investment returns came in far below the benchmark, which Mr. Schroeder attributed to “volatility” in the market.
With these larger economic conditions in mind, the 2022-2023 budget expenses include a 1 percent adjustment for inflation, which Ms. Taylor said is “not near enough, but we just don’t have the resources to increase the budget to account for all the inflation that we’re currently seeing.”
Jason Toth, senior associate vice president for administration, warned the board that UT is continuing to accumulate risk by deferring maintenance due to budget shortages. He estimated a remaining $363 million in deferred maintenance needs that must be addressed over the next 10 years.
Also Wednesday, the trustees unanimously voted to award UT President Gregory Postel with a $156,060 bonus, equal to 30 percent of his annual salary. This will accompany the 2 percent wage increase allotted to all non-union employees.
BG welcomes $5 million expansion
Also Thursday, a ceremony was held to dedicate a $5 million expansion to the BGSU aviation program. The university partnered with North Star Aviation on a project to bring flight simulators, new aircraft, and an expansion to the BG Flight Center which will double flight operations and classroom and office space.
BGSU’s aviation program has grown exponentially since the fall of 2014, from 114 students, 20 employees, and nine aircraft up to 355 students, 70 employees, and 18 aircraft.
“We started down this path quite a few years ago, recognizing there was going to be a pilot shortage,” Rogers said. “And COVID has made that shortage even more challenging. And so we’ve been fortunate to be in a good position where we have the capacity to dramatically increase the training of pilots and people working in the aviation industry.”
Also on Thursday, Jennifer Waldron was appointed as the university’s vice provost and dean of graduate and professional programs. She spent five years as the associate vice president of research and innovation and dean of the Graduate College at the University of Northern Iowa.
First Published June 23, 2022, 11:54 p.m.
