FY06 Operating Budget
On June 17, 2005, the Washburn University Board of Regents approved Washburn University's FY06 operating budget (pdf). The budget included a 9.33% increase in the tuition rate for the 2005-06 academic year, raising the undergraduate tuition rate from $150 to $164 per credit hour.
Sources of Revenue
A look at the detail of the FY06 Revenue Budget indicates some interesting information.
1. Undergrad Tuition Revenue Increases 13.4%
The combination of an overall projected 2% growth in credit hours and 9% growth in tuition rate has increased total tuition income by 9.5%. However, with enrollment decreases in Law, Applied Studies, and Business, the effect is a 13.4% increase in undergraduate revenue, boosted in large part by the projected growth of 8% in Arts & Sciences and 15% in Nursing.
2. New Student Fee Generates $142,500 in Revenue
In January, 2005, the Washburn University Board of Regents approved the $104,378 purchase of Touchnet Student Accounts Solution. The funding source approved for this purchase was the implementation of a $30 installment plan fee for students and an increase in the student's late payment fee from $10 to $25. This has resulted in an increase of $142,500 in the FY06 Revenue budget.
3. Memorial Union Subsidy Increases $100,000
The subsidy transferred each year from the Educational budget to the Auxiliary operations increased by $100,000 for FY06. No explanation has been provided for this 28% change in funding. This is just another area where the burden of debt payments on the auxiliary operations has impacted the funding of education.
4. New Student Recreation and Wellness Fees of $75,000
This budget amount is approximately 500 annual memberships at $150 per year. Student membership is currently included with tuition. Only faculty and staff are assessed the annual membership fees.
5. Use of Reserve Funds Decrease by $1.2 Million
The administration decreased the use of reserve funds in the FY06 revenue budget by $1.2 million. These funds have generally reflected the unused budgeted expenditures, realized by unfilled faculty and staff positions. At $210,000 of revenue for every 1% tuition increase, this change alone accounts for over 5%, or $7.50, of the tuition increase. With the use of FY05 excess funds of $200,000 and without this budget change, the tuition increase could have been held to a modest 3% increase.
Use of New Funds
In a nutshell, the new FY06 funds will be used for:
- $1,281,838 - Salary Increases
- $ 849,115 - New Positions
- $2,001,015 - Operating Expenses
A look at the detail of the use of new funds also shows some interesting information.
1. School of Business Increases New Positions
Over $275,000 will be spent on new positions in the School of Business even with a projected 2.8% decrease in credit hours.
2. A&S OOE Budget Increases Less Than 2%
In spite of an 8% projected growth in credit hours, the operating budget for Arts & Sciences increased less than 2%. Too many educational units have not seen an increase in their operating expense budgets for the past five years. Changes, if any, have usually been fairly insignificant.
In FY04, over twenty budget units overspent their operating budgets. If FY04 expenditure levels are maintained, almost fifteen units will continue to overspend their operating budgets based on each area's FY06 budget.
It is also interesting to note that, excluding utilities, the operating budgets for the facility budget units have increased less than 1% in total over the past four years, in spite of all the additional construction that has occurred on campus. In FY04 the $132,886 of overexpenditures in the facilities area were offset by the $167,452 that was not expended on utilities.
3. Administrative OOE Budgets Increase
Operating budgets increased in various administrative areas, including the President's Office, Institutional Research, Vice-President Academic Affairs, Vice-President Administration, Administrative Information Systems, Finance, Alumni, and the Service Area. In addition to those general increases, $32,000 was added to the marketing budget included in the Enrollment Management budget.
4. Other Items of Interest
Other increases in the operating budget include the following:
- $812,000 - Staff Benefits
- $300,000 - Transformational Education
- $210,000 - Scholarships
- $130,000 - Classroom renovation
- $125,000 - Utilities
- $100,000 - Workers Compensation Insurance
- $100,000 - Property Insurance
Washburn University Operating Budget - General Information
As a tool that controls many of the day to day operating expenditures, the operating budget allows the reader to determine the University's priorities. You may find a brief explanation of various components of the operating budget to be useful.