Vice President for Finance and Administration Deb Shaffer presented Ohio University’s budget to Student Senate at the meeting on Wednesday.
Shaffer discussed revenues and costs of the university and how it is having an effect on students at the university.
“Revenues are not increasing as fast as our expenses are,” Shaffer said. “This leads us to having to reach into our reserves, which is basically just a savings account.”
OU is spending reserves to cover operating costs, but they are not the only college to do so. Colleges nationwide are struggling financially, Shaffer said.
“A predominant amount of the revenue comes from tuition, but enrollment is dropping tremendously,” Shaffer said.
Due to the struggle of maintaining student enrollment, there will be a tuition increase for all incoming students. Current students will not be affected due to the university’s tuition guarantee.
Shaffer said OU President Duane Nellis plans to reduce the struggle to make money and raise revenue by extending future budget planning to go through fiscal year 2025.
There was also another presentation by the president of Culinary Services, Dillon Barnhouse. Culinary Services is looking to hire three more sous chefs.
There has been a struggle of chef staff during this past academic year. Student workers have been asked to commit the duties of a chef without any extra pay.
“There have been several complaints from culinary student workers,” Barnhouse said. “Asking a student employee to do the duty of a chef one is exploiting the student.”
By hiring the new chefs, there will be a two percent increase of meal plan costs, Barnhouse said.
There were also seven resolutions voted on by Student Senate. Three of these resolutions involved the budget.
A resolution was approved to pay for an environmentalist speaker at the Environmental Justice Summit event, which will cost $300. Another resolution was to purchase for a table for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day brunch was approved, which will cost $120. There was also an approval to pay for a hostel for Student Senate’s Washington, D.C., networking trip, which will cost $1,202.
Two resolutions for Emeriti Status were also approved. The Judicial Panel and non-voting members of Student Senate will now be applicable for this status. Emeriti Status is awarded to Student Senate members who exceed expectations in their work.
Holly Thompson was appointed as a senator for the Senate Appropriations Commissions, and Elizabeth Roscoe was appointed as a senator for the University Life Commissions.
