Money, The Ridges and more money were all discussed at the Ohio University Board of Trustees Joint Resources and Academics committee meeting Thursday morning.
Most importantly, trustees expressed anger over the fact OU will likely lose state monies after gaining millions this year.
State Share of Instruction
The State Share of Instruction (SSI) is the formula used to distribute the bulk of state money provided to Ohio’s public institutions. They are proposing two changes impacting at-risk students and funding that could cost OU millions of dollars in state dollars.
The factors that go into determining whether a student is at risk or not stems from personal financial support, academic achievement, age and race.
Students entering with more than 30 credit hours have the same completion rate as students with no risk factors, according to John Day, associate provost for academic budget.
The proposed changes to how state dollars are distributed would eliminate the at-risk bonus for students coming in with more than 30 credit hours.
“As a student, this makes me really angry,” said Keith Wilbur, the second-year student trustee on the board. Wilbur said the state is effectively saying a student who is “at-risk” initially — like an African-American student from an inner-city high school — who attends a community college then transfers to OU is no longer “at-risk.”
“A lot of folks are upset,” said OU President Roderick McDavis. “We need to expand funding for higher education. We didn’t change the formula. We did what the state wanted us to do.”
McDavis blamed presidents of other Ohio universities for going back on a plan they unanimously approved last year that ultimately benefited OU in terms of state funding.
Officials are not sure what dollar amount they stand to lose, but are projecting a 6.4 percent loss in state funding next year over last year. That could mean up to $9 million fewer dollars for OU.
Faculty Compensation
When the faculty compensation 2014 plan was put into effect, OU was in the bottom half of public universities, in terms of employee pay. The plan plans to place OU among the top three public universities in Ohio for employee compensation.
“We are catching up,” said Coleen Bendl, Chief Human resource officer.
The plan, if approved at Friday’s meeting, will change how classified and administrative employees at OU are paid. The current pay structures are confusing, and there are employees with similar — if not identical — jobs who are paid differently, officials said.
The various pay structures OU uses now will be combined, offering a single, clear, way for employees to see how they are paid and why they are paid what they are.
Employees who disagree with the changes can appeal them. So far, only 10 appeals have been filed; between 100 and 200 are expected, Bendl said.
The board also expressed concerns about avoiding “slave labor” concerning unpaid internships the university offers.
Those internships are not currently addressed in the plan, but will be looked at now that the board raised concerns about the internships.
Bendl said the overall goal for the plan is to address “labor fairness.”
The Ridges
The Ridges Advisory Committee is working on updating the old Ridges Master Plan. The new plan is due this spring.
The Ridges, a 700 acre site that includes 40 buildings, has three three distinct sub-committees looking at its future: academic; land uses; and existing buildings.
“Despite water damage and asbestos, the buildings are in somewhat better conditions than people think," said Shawna Bolin, director of University planning and space management.
The advisory committees have examined case studies from California and Michigan that were similarly designed for containment to hold clients
“There is a strong desire to save the buildings,” Bolin said.
Officials said those in the Athens community are excited about plans for The Ridges.
