The WKU Board of Regents has passed a nearly $394 million budget for the 2013-14 academic year. In a special meeting Friday, regents voted 7-2 for the spending plan that raises tuition three percent. Resident undergraduate tuition will increase $250 per year to $8,582.
Chief Financial Officer Ann Mead said that while the $393,959,000 budget has increased 1.4 percent, building the budget was challenging.
“In order to fund projected fixed costs and ongoing commitments, the administration is implementing a budget balancing plan of more than $2.1 million,” she said.
WKU President Gary Ransdell praised the unified effort across campus to achieve a balanced budget in a trying financial climate.
Faculty Regent Patty Minter cast one of the dissenting votes over a capital project. The budget calls for issuing bonds for construction of a $22 million building for the Honors College and International Student Services.
"It is very risky to take on more bond debt for a long-term project which, while very much a want, is not a need," said Minter.
Forty-six percent of the budget revenue comes from student tuition and fees. State funding makes up only 18 percent of the WKU budget.