Michigan Tech Board Approves Balanced 2006-07 Budget

Michigan Tech's Board of Trustees adopted a balanced budget Thursday for the 2006-07 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The $120.8-million general fund budget is up about 7.6 percent from this year's estimated $112.3 million and projects a state appropriation of $49.0 million, about 1.7 percent greater than the current year's $48.2 million.

The budget reflects an 8.75 percent increase in annual tuition and mandatory fees, from $8,194 to $8,911, for resident undergraduate students. The increase for nonresident undergraduates and graduate students will be 7.0 percent. Financial aid funding increased 14.2 percent, from $12.9 million to $14.5 million.

Graduate students will see a 3 percent hike in their minimum stipend, and the university will increase its contribution to the cost of their health care premiums .

Room and board rates are slated to rise 7.3 percent, from $6,355 to $6,820, for a standard occupancy room in the McNair or Douglass Houghton residence halls and 19 meals a week.

Overall enrollment is expected to rise by 50, 20 more undergraduates than last year and 30 more graduate students.

The budget includes a $1.9 million increase in overall funding for salaries and wages.

For those bargaining unit members covered by a contract, raises will be negotiated. For those not covered by a contract, raises will be determined and administered through established university processes based on merit, marketplace considerations and equity, as has been done in the past.

No changes in the current employee benefit package are anticipated, and the university is on track to open a childcare center for students and employees in early 2007, with the university sharing a portion of the cost of childcare.

Reporting on the current year's budget, Mroz noted that the university research awards are projected to rise approximately $10 million this year, to $42.8 million, an increase of 29.3 percent over 2004-05. "This has been a banner year for faculty, staff and students involved in research," he said. "Research is becoming an even greater part of what's happening at Michigan Tech."

Also, revenues from fundraising have increased by 66 percent, from $12 million in 2005 to $20 million in the current fiscal year. The Michigan Tech Fund is gearing up for a fundraising campaign, set to kick off officially July 1, 2007.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.