Trustees set tuition and fees, approve compensation pools for raises

For the second year in a row, incoming Bowling Green State University students will start college with the assurance that what they pay in tuition and fees this year will remain the same for the next four years, thanks to the Falcon Tuition Guarantee plan adopted by BGSU in 2017. BGSU Firelands joined the plan in May 2019 for its full-time, in-state students who are pursuing four-year degrees.

At its June 27 meeting to adopt general and operating budgets for fiscal year 2020, the BGSU Board of Trustees set tuition and fees for the University’s second cohort of incoming full-time students, approved rates for continuing students not under the tuition guarantee plan, and announced compensation pools for faculty and administrative and classified staff raises. All changes to tuition and fees are pending approval by the Ohio legislature of House Bill 166, which must be finalized by June 30.

Tuition and fees for the new, incoming fall cohort of undergraduates will total $5,806 per semester in fiscal year 2020. This rate matches estimates the University provided prospective students while they were considering BGSU and will be locked in for four years under the Falcon Tuition Guarantee.

The state budget, as introduced by the governor and approved by the Ohio House, includes a 1 percent increase in State Share of Instruction (SSI) for public universities for both years of the new biennium. It also permits a 2 percent increase in tuition and general fees for continuing students at four-year universities.

“We appreciate that the state plans to provide additional investments in direct instructional support to our students,” BGSU President Rodney Rogers said after the board meeting. “The governor and members of the House and Senate understand the critical role higher education plays in ensuring a prosperous future for Ohio.”

For the first time since 2013, full-time, in-state undergraduate students on the Bowling Green and Firelands campuses who are not included in the tuition guarantee (those who enrolled at BGSU before the plan was adopted) will see a 2 percent increase in tuition and fees. This will mean an additional $106.20 per semester for students on the Bowling Green campus. The 2 percent increase will also apply to students enrolled in distance-learning and eCampus courses.

For BGSU Firelands undergraduates, the total per-semester cost for full-time, in-state undergraduates who are not in the Firelands Falcon Tuition Guarantee plan will increase by $49.20 per semester. Tuition and general fees for full-time Firelands students in the inaugural tuition guarantee plan, who are pursuing four-year degrees, will be $2,613 per semester.

“When considering any tuition or fee changes, our goal is keeping a BGSU education as affordable as possible while ensuring that we have the resources to continue preparing students for meaningful, productive careers and lives,” Rogers said. “These modest increases will allow us to continue to provide additional scholarships to help more students.

“As a public university, we are committed to serving the public good by providing our state with well-prepared graduates who will contribute to our economic and social well-being. We will continue to invest in developing relevant and meaningful academic programs designed to prepare our students for success.”

There is no change to the out-of-state surcharge for undergraduate or graduate students on the Bowling Green or Firelands campus. No increases to graduate tuition were included in the board action.

The board also approved a 2 percent salary pool for staff raises. Faculty raises are determined by the collective bargaining agreement between the University and the Bowling Green Faculty Association.

In other trustee action, board chair Daniel Keller and vice chair Betty Montgomery were re-elected to their positions for another term.

Joining the board for their first meeting were newly appointed undergraduate trustee Remington C. Schneider of Cincinnati and graduate student trustee Leah Fishman of Farmingdale, New York. Schneider’s term began June 21 and will end May 17, 2021. Fishman, who fills the uncompleted term of Adam Smidi, will serve until May 17, 2020.