WKU President Gary Ransdell is expecting a list of recommendations from the school’s divisional leaders over how to reallocate $7.7 million.
The moves are needed for the school to pay its fixed costs and balance its budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. In an email to faculty and staff Monday, Ransdell said declining state funding for higher education and a drop in enrollment have forced the school to act.
Ransdell said WKU was facing increased expenditures of $9.6 million related employee benefits, contractual obligations, and maintenance for new and expanded facilities. While a 3 percent tuition increase will create $4.3 million for the school, the actual benefit is only $1.9 million when enrollment decreases are factored in.
Speaking to WKU Public Radio Tuesday, President Ransdell says the school’s vice-presidents have been given the ability to decide how to best handle the changes.
“I would say within the next month, all of those decisions will have been made about how each division will address its required reallocation.
Dr. Ransdell says another reason for the reallocation is the need to pay for an increasing number of scholarship acceptances by students in the upcoming fall freshman class. The school must fund nearly $3.8 million more in scholarships than what the current budget covers.
“That’s good news and bad news,” Ransdell said. “The good news is we’re growing the quality of the student population at WKU, and our intellectual strength is on the rise.”
“But it comes at a cost. So our challenge next year will be to stay within this year’s budgeted allocation, which could mean a bit of a restructuring of our scholarship programs heading into next year.”
