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Tuition increases approved at Bay

ESCANABA — Bay College’s budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year was officially approved by the Bay College Board of Trustees during a special meeting Wednesday. The fiscal year will begin on July 1, 2017.

The college’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes $8,878,629 in operating revenues, $20,193,046 in operating expenses, and $11,418,462 in non-operating revenues.

The first section of the budget reviewed by the board Wednesday dealt with tuition rates and fees for the 2017-18 school year. Tuition rates were increased by $3 per contact hour to $119 for residents of Delta County, by $5 per contact hour to $176 for residents of Dickinson County, and by $6 per contact hour to $205 for in-state residents. This was done to counteract the effects of increases in the college’s operating expenses.

In order to put Bay in line with other community colleges in Michigan, tuition rates for out-of-state students were reduced by $112 per contact hour to $250.

“We wanted to be more competitive, so we have just as good a chance to get those residents as other Michigan community colleges,” Bay College Vice President of Finance Kevin Carlson said.

Some additional changes were made to the college’s fees in the 2017-18 budget. These included the capping of student fees at 16 contact hours and the introduction of a transcript fee.

Carlson also said the college will be introducing an optional digital textbook fee. However, he noted this fee can actually save participating students money in the long run, as it will allow them to use less expensive digital textbooks instead of buying physical textbooks for certain classes.

With the exception of Vice-Chair Joy Hopkins, all of the board’s members voted in favor of accepting these tuition rates and fees for the 2017-18 budget.

“I was holding for … zero increase,” Hopkins said of her vote.

Later, the board looked at Bay’s operating budget for 2017-18. Carlson noted some employee salaries will be increasing once the college’s new fiscal year starts.

“There is a 2 percent increase for staff and adjunct budgeted in,” he said.

The 2017-18 operating budget was unanimously accepted by the Board of Trustees. The entire board also voted to continue levying the college’s millage at 3.5 mills.

Employee health care contributions were also looked at by the board during the meeting. Board members unanimously approved Director of Human Resources Bridget Kennedy’s suggestion that the college adopt an 80/20 cost share option from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2017 before moving to a hard cap on Jan. 1, 2018.

After the meeting, Bay College President Laura Coleman said she was happy with the college’s 2017-18 budget.

“I am very grateful that we have a board that is conservative and wants to make sure that community college education at Bay remains affordable, and that they are focused on the quality of education and support that we can give to our students,” she said.

The Bay College Board of Trustees held its regular monthly meeting shortly after its special meeting. During the regular meeting, the board:

– approved the Board of Trustees Business Affairs Audit Policy on first reading.

– voted to approve board members Philip Strom and Stephen O’Driscoll as the board’s official representative and alternate representative, respectively, to the Michigan Community College Association Board of Directors.

– heard from Coleman that Bill Milligan had resigned from his position as president of the Bay College Faculty Association. This position is being filled on an interim basis by Tom Warstler.

– re-appointed Susan Hadley, Bob Koerschner, and Russ Kassin to the Bay College West Advisory Committee.

– presented a resolution of congratulations to Bay students involved with the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. last month.

– presented the TORCH Award to Custodian Pat Ogle.

– presented resolutions of appreciation to a pair of retirees: Full-Time Early Childhood Instructor Connie Martinsen and Director of Transfer and Student Advising Beth Noreus.

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