04-07-95 Board Discuss Tuition and Value, General Fees BOARD APPROVES CONTRACTS, SELLS LAND, DISCUSSES TUITION NEWARK -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees meeting on the Newark campus Friday (4/7) discussed Ohio State's tuition, and heard reports on the general fee and on the state budget bill recently passed by the Ohio House of Representatives. The board also approved contracts for a new library and classroom facility on the Marion campus, approved the sale of land at the old Barnebey Center, and approved research agreements. OHIO STATE TUITION LOW AMONG PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES Tuition at Ohio State remains a bargain in today's higher education market. Its annual resident undergraduate tuition of $3,087 is lower than nine of 14 other public research institutions that Ohio State considers its peer group. Ohio State's tuition is 14 percent below the average of $3,569. (The group includes the public Big Ten universities, the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Los Angeles, and the universities of Maryland, Washington, and Arizona.) "We continue to be an excellent buy," Shkurti said. He noted that Ohio State's resident undergraduate tuition is one of the lowest among Ohio's 13 public four-year universities, ranking 10th this year. In Ohio, only Youngstown State, Central State, and Shawnee State universities had lower tuition than Ohio State. The average tuition is $3,391. GENERAL FEE TO GET PUBLIC ACCOUNTING For 25 years, neither the state nor the university has defined general fees, but that's about to change. At the request of the Undergraduate Student Government and the Council of Graduate Students, the University Senate has created a subcommittee of the Senate Fiscal Committee to review exactly what is funded by the dollars in the general fee. Shkurti noted that the state requires that students be charged two separate fees: instructional and general. "Our student governments have raised legitimate issues regarding truth in advertising and accountability for where the dollars go." One of the catalysts bringing the issue to the forefront was the $12 million in infrastructure repairs needed at the Ohio Union. Undergraduate Student Government passed a resolution March 1 urging the Office of Finance and the Board of Trustees to redefine the general fee. USG also asked that the general and instructional fees be adjusted as necessary to comply with that definition so that net revenue from student fees won't be affected. Sandra Solano, president of the Council of Graduate Studies, said that the council wants the term "General Fee" to have an agreed upon university definition. She noted that if a separate general fee is desirable, the committee could recommend those services which the fee should encompass and procedures for separating General Fee funds from other funding sources to improve the university's accounting procedures. The Senate subcommittee, made up of students, faculty, and staff, is scheduled to issue an interim recommendation to the Board of Trustees for the May 5 meeting. "The university fully supports the efforts of this subcommittee," Shkurti noted. Staff from the Office of Finance and the Office of Student Affairs have been assigned to work with and assist the subcommittee. UNIVERSITY WOULD BENEFIT FROM BUDGET BILL CHANGES Ohio State stands to receive about $3.7 million in additional General Fund revenues, an increase of about 0.5 percent, above the governor's recommendation in the fiscal 1996- 97 biennial budget bill that passed the Ohio House of Representatives Thursday, April 6. In addition, the House boosted funding for university agriculture about $4 million. "We received enormously strong support" from the governor and the House, said President E. Gordon Gee. The president credited Gov. George Voinovich, state budget director Gregory Browning, House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, and Reps. Robert Corbin, Thomas Johnson and Ron Amstutz in particular for their efforts in support of higher education. "Although half a percent may not seem like a major increase, it makes a significant contribution to achieving our budget goals," Shkurti said, while recognizing the amount is subject to change in the Senate. Shkurti noted that Ohio State should get about 37 percent, or $1.8 million, of the $5 million the House added in the Research Challenge program for performance funding in the biennium. These funds are treated the same as unrestricted instructional subsidies. In addition, Ohio State's Columbus campus should get about $800,000 of the $10 million added to the subsidy formula for freshman and sophomore courses in fiscal 1996 and $1.1 million of the $15 million added for fiscal 1997. The House bill also gives Ohio State's regional campuses amounts higher than the governor's recommendations. Together, the campuses would get $100,000 more in 1996 and $150,000 more in 1997. Ohio State agriculture also got a boost from the House budget. The House added $1.5 million each year for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and Ohio State University Extension in fiscal 1996 and $2.5 million in fiscal 1997. "We're very pleased," said Bobby Moser, vice president for agricultural administration. "It gives us increases of about 6 percent for Extension and about 7 percent for OARDC each year of the biennium. Included in that 7 percent for OARDC is $750,000 each year for equipment, which was badly needed. House members are very positive about our programs and it's reflected in their support." Representatives recommended that the Center for Labor Research line item be eliminated. The governor had recommended $394,000 annually. CONTRACTS APPROVED FOR MARION BUILDING Trustees approved contracts for construction of a library and classroom facility to serve The Ohio State University-Marion and the Marion Technical College. The building will be constructed south of the campus pond. The state is providing $7.1 million and the Marion campus is providing $324,725 for the project, which is to be completed in October 1996. Contractors are Peterson Construction Co. of Wapakoneta, general, $3,983,700; J.A. Croson Co., Columbus, plumbing, $334,889; J.A. Guy Inc., Dublin, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, $682,000; and Buckeye Electric Co. of Dayton, electric, $1,148,000. The contingency allowance equals 4 percent of construction cost. Trustees also authorized the employment of architectural and engineering firms and granted approval to seek construction bids for two $300,000 projects being funded by University Hospitals. The projects involve renovating 3,000 square feet of space on the second floor of Doan Hall to house the Peripheral Vascular Laboratory and expand cardiology services in an adjacent area, and the second phase of repairing exterior brick on Rhodes Hall. OHIO STATE TO SELL 302 ACRES AT BARNEBEY Following the sale of 470 acres of the Barnebey Center in southeastern Fairfield County last September, Ohio State trustees authorized the sale of three more parcels of adjacent land totaling 302 acres. Trustees approved the sale of 117 acres, including timber and mineral rights to Dean J. Kiourtsis for no less than $114,900, 95.18 acres to George Koberlein for no less than $88,040, and 89.64 acres to Daniel L. Rankin and Michael J. Rankin for no less than $89,700. The sales would include timber and mineral rights. The properties, all between Revenge and Barnebey roads, have been appraised at $90,884, $73,764 and $69,471, respectively. The lands had been part of the Barnebey Center for Environmental Studies. The center was used by the School of Natural Resources for many years for student instruction and research, including spring quarter resident classes. However, the school and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences determined the property was no longer needed and could not be operated economically. Net proceeds from the sale will be deposited in the Barnebey Family Scholarship Fund for undergraduate and graduate student scholarships in the school. Last September, 470 acres, including the Barnebey Center's buildings, were sold to the Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. RESEARCH CONTRACTS APPROVED Trustees approved 178 research contracts totalling $11.8 million. Singled out for special mention were: A study of the immunological consequences of spinal cord injury, conducted by Caroline C. Whitacre of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and Bradford T. Stokes of the Department of Physiology and funded with $230,669 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Development of an advanced analysis tool for characterization, simulation, and remedy of molding induced defects in liquid composite molding, conducted by L. James Lee and Robert S. Brodkey of the Department of Chemical Engineering and funded with $154,036 by the National Science Foundation. Scientists from six major corporations will participate. A study of psychophysiology and anxiogenesis, conducted by Gary G. Berntson of the Department of Psychology and funded with $96,528 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. A study of interstellar astrochemistry by Eric Herbst of the Department of Physics and funded with $92,895 by the National Science Foundation. In another research matter, trustees authorized the vice president for research to transfer to Douglas Kniss, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, an exclusive license to use or develop a gene therapy-based treatment protocol. The protocol, known as Antisense DNA Strategies to Suppress Preterm Labor, was developed by Kniss and Ohio State has applied for a patent on the discovery. The license agreement is to provide compensation to the university. The agreement is a pilot project for the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. [Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu) Mon, 10 Apr 1995 11:47:51 -0400] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.