Board of Trustees Passes Balanced Budget

Michigan Technological University's Board of Trustees adopted a balanced budget Thursday, June 21, for the 2007-08 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The $135-million general fund budget projects a state appropriation of $50.4 million. The budget also reflects a 9.51 percent average increase in tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduates who are state residents. Graduate students will see a 6.2 percent increase in tuition and mandatory fees.

Room and board rates are slated to rise 6.8 percent, from $6,820 to $7,285, for a standard occupancy room in the McNair or Douglass Houghton residence halls and 19 meals a week.

The budget also includes a 17.6 percent increase in financial aid funding, from $15.0 million to $17.6 million.

"Michigan Tech has a commitment to quality," said University President Glenn Mroz. "That's what defines us. Our students deserve outstanding educational programs, and we will continue to deliver them. We also are conscious of keeping Michigan Tech affordable, but tuition increases are inevitable as state support declines. "

The state's appropriation to its public universities, including Michigan Tech, has not kept up with inflation, said Board Chair Dr. Kathryn Clark. "Meanwhile, the cost of providing a top-quality education-particularly the high-cost science and engineering programs offered by Michigan Tech-continues to rise."

"A Michigan Tech education remains an excellent investment," Mroz added. Nearly all of the University's graduates find good jobs in their fields, and they graduate with a relatively light student-loan debt. Of the 248 schools considered national universities by U.S. News, Michigan Tech was the only university in Michigan to make the "Least Debt" category, ranking 17th.

The budget includes a salary pool of $3.7 million for salary and wage increases and new faculty positions. The salary pool will be distributed among the different groups of employees, across the board and/or based on merit, marketplace and equity considerations.

This summer, the University is negotiating with the four employee unions, including the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). "The salary pool for each of the four unions has yet to be determined, and we may need to ask the Board of Trustees for a budget modification later," Mroz said.

In other business, the board re-elected Clark and Russell Gronevelt to one-year terms as chair and vice chair. Clark joined the board in 2001. The former chief scientist of human space flight for NASA is coinventor of the learning game Space TiVITz.

Gronevelt is the president of Orchard Hiltz & McCliment, Inc., a civil engineering consulting firm headquartered in Livonia. He has served on the board since 2004.

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.