The Board of Trustees of Illinois State University passed a number of resolutions at the quarterly meeting held on Friday, May 6, 2022. Full texts of the resolutions can be found on the Board of Trustees website.
College of Engineering approval, pre-construction services
The Board of Trustees gave authorization for Illinois State to proceed with actions to formally establish the College of Engineering. The proposal for the College of Engineering was approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) in March 2022. The new College will include two new academic departments: the Department of Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Trustees authorized the University to begin the first phase of pre-construction services for the College of Engineering, which includes planning, design, and production of the required documents to publicly bid the renovation of the John Green Building and the Carter Harris Administration Building; establishing a budget; and appointing architects, engineers and other necessary project consultants. Trustees approved expenditures not to exceed $3 million for that work.
New degree programs
The Board of Trustees approved three new graduate level academic programs.
The newly approved M.S. in Marketing Analytics program, administered by the Department of Marketing in the College of Business, is an interdisciplinary degree program designed to provide students with both broad and deep technical skills in marketing analytics. Enrollment is projected at 40 full-time students once the program is fully implemented.
The new Master of Public Health program is an online interdisciplinary degree program administered by the Department of Health Sciences in the College of Applied Science and Technology. The program, designed for students who aspire to work on vital public health issues, is expected to enroll cohorts of 20 to 25 both full-time and part-time students.
The new STEM Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program is a graduate interdisciplinary business degree program with significant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content. The program is administered through the College of Business and enrollment is projected at 25 full-time and part-time students once the program is fully implemented.
FY 2023 spending authorization
Trustees authorized University officials to expend funds according to the FY 2023 Spending Authorization by Object and Function of Expenditure until the Board takes further action on the FY 2023 operating budget.
State appropriations to Illinois State University for FY 2023 are not formally approved by the Governor’s Office and General Assembly until May 31, 2022, or shortly thereafter, and this action allows the University to meet its financial obligations beginning July 1.
Tuition, fees, room and board rates
The Board of Trustees approved tuition, fees, and room and board rates for the 2022-2023 academic year.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, Trustees approved a 3.42 percent total cost increase over the previous year, making the total cost of attendance for a full-time undergraduate student, including student health insurance, $26,335 before financial aid is applied.
New undergraduate students from Illinois will pay $394.69 per credit hour in tuition for the 2022-2023 academic year, a 2.75 percent increase over the previous year. Under Illinois’s Truth-in-Tuition statute, new undergraduate students this coming fall will continue to pay this rate through summer of 2026. In-state tuition for graduate students will be $414.69 per credit hour. The Truth-in-Tuition statute does not apply to graduate tuition rates.
The mandatory student fees for the 2022-2023 academic year will be $111.01 per credit hour for undergraduate and graduate students. This represents a 3 percent increase over the previous academic year.
Students will pay between $2,871 and $4,908 per semester, depending on the type of residence hall room (multiple occupancy, single, or super single). Rates for Cardinal Court apartments will range from $4,401 to $6,155 per semester, depending on apartment configuration and occupancy. These housing rates represent a 3 to 4.5 percent increase over the previous year.
Residential meal plans for 2022-2023 range in price from $2,313 to $2,483 per semester. The rates represent a 4.5 percent increase over the previous academic year.
South Campus Housing-Dining Project pre-construction services
Trustees approved expenditures not to exceed $8 million for South Campus Housing-Dining Project pre-construction services and authorized the University to establish a budget and appoint architects, engineers, and other necessary project consultants. The work is the first stage of a project to construct a 1,200-bed residential hall and a 700-seat dining center at the former site of the Atkin-Colby and Hamilton-Whitten Residence Halls and Feeney Dining Center.
After a housing feasibility study was conducted in 2017, project planning efforts began in the summer of 2019, but were placed on indefinite hold in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic had a significant impact on university housing enrollment, operations, and revenues starting in Spring 2020 and carrying through the Fall 2021 semester. After this difficult and restrictive period, the original plan to proceed with constructing the housing and dining project under a public-private P3 ownership structure was determined to be not feasible.
After considerable analysis, in consultation with external financial and legal advisors, Illinois State decided to move away from the P3 model and proceed with the project as a traditional, university owned, auxiliary facility system (AFS) funded capital project initiated and managed by the University due to multiple financial, operational, and total property control attributes that ultimately result in a lower overall total project cost.
Student health insurance contract
The Board gave its approval for the renewal of a contract with Aetna Student Health for the University’s student health and accident insurance plan for the 2022-2023 policy year. Under the contract, the student health insurance rate will be $281 for the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters and $211 for the summer 2023 session.
Foundation support agreement
The University was authorized to extend a contract with the Illinois State University Foundation for development and fundraising services for FY 2023. The contract stipulates those services will be provided for in-kind consideration not to exceed $2,843,000. The Foundation, a private corporation, works to solicit, secure, and manage private gifts and other resources to support Illinois State’s educational and research mission.
Watterson Towers mechanical work
Trustees approved a $150,000 increase to the budget for a project to replace air handling units and exhaust fans located on the top of the Watterson Towers residence halls. The project was originally approved by the Board in February 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed construction by one full year and resulted in unanticipated and unplanned additional costs. The newly approved money raises the project budget from $4.2 million to $4.35 million.
Revenue bonds for Indoor Practice Facility
The Board approved issuance of Auxiliary Facilities System Revenue Bonds, Series 2022A to construct the Athletics Indoor Practice Facility. The facility was approved by Trustees in December 2021 and over $12 million of donor funds have been committed to the project. The revenue bonds to be issued shall not exceed an aggregate principal amount of $11.5 million.
Campus-wide network upgrade
The Board of Trustees authorized the first phase of a multi-year project to upgrade campus-wide networking equipment. Trustees approved $1.25 million for necessary hardware, software, and support costs to increase reliability, efficiency, security, and visibility of the network that supports critical campus functions. This first phase project will focus on a dozen academic, administrative, and service buildings on campus.
Software for Illinois Tutoring Initiative
Board members approved expenditures for a customized online platform for use by the Illinois Tutoring Initiative (ITI), a collaborative project managed by Illinois State University in partnership with the Governor’s Office, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois State Board of Education. The online platform will be supported by ITI’s external vendor partner Pearl and will provide an electronic application for students across Illinois to receive tutoring hours and to manage tutoring data and reporting. The project cost will be $1 million over two years, paid for with state ITI grant funds.
Connect Transit contract
Trustees authorized the University to establish a three-year contract with Connect Transit to provide transportation services to students, faculty, and staff for an amount not to exceed $1,868,760 for the duration of the three-year agreement. The agreement with Connect Transit covers July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025.
Student trustee recognition
The Board of Trustees expressed their appreciation for the service of outgoing Student Trustee Devin Paoni.
