REGENTS RAISE FEE HIKES AND RENTAL CHARGES

Southeast Missouri State University's Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to hike incidental fees and raise rental charges for its off-campus apartments.

The new charges will take effect this fall.

Although he voted for the fee hikes, Regent Don Harrison of Cape Girardeau expressed some concern about it.

"I'd hate to see us follow in the Washington path and raise taxes all the time," Harrison said, comparing fee hikes to federal taxes.

He said he would like to see the university cut expenses at times rather than raise fees.

Four of the six voting regents, barely a quorum, were in attendance at the afternoon meeting.

University officials said the hike in incidental fees is based on a projected operating budget of $52.6 million, which includes projected state funding of about $31 million.

If Southeast ends up with $1 million less than currently forecast, some changes may have to be made in the budget for the 1994 fiscal year, said university President Kala Stroup.

But at this point, she said, it's impossible to know for sure what the final outcome will be in the state appropriation process.

"We always have to build a budget based on assumptions," she told the regents.

Ken Dobbins, vice president for finance and administration at Southeast, said the regents will be asked to approve the 1994 fiscal year budget at the June board meeting.

"I hope you're not talking about coming up with increases each meeting," Harrison told university officials.

"It seems like we are always sticking our finger in the dike," said Regent Mark Pelts of Kennett.

Stroup said many institutions set their student fees at a high level to take into account the possibility of receiving less in state funding than had been anticipated.

But she said Southeast's administration doesn't want to follow such a route. She said the institution is committed to keeping student fees as low as possible.

The regents approved a rate hike of $5 per credit hour in the incidental fee for in-state students and $10 for out-of-state students.

Monthly rental charges for the university's off-campus apartments at 401 and 505 Washington Street will be increased by $10-$25 for two-bedroom apartments, depending on the size and location. Students will pay from $270 to $295 a month for such apartments. The monthly rental charge for one-bedroom units will be $220, a $15 hike.

The apartments are rented to students with dependent children, married students and students over 21 years of age, said SueAnn Strom, vice president for student affairs.

"Our renters are very good about paying their rent on time," she said.

Dobbins said the increase in incidental fees is needed to meet basic operating expenses for the coming fiscal year.

Under the new rates, a resident undergraduate enrolled in 12 credit hours will pay $1,026 a semester; non-resident undergraduates will pay $1,854.

In-state graduate students enrolled in 12 credit hours will pay $1,098 a semester; non-resident graduate students will pay $1,986.

Dobbins said that every $1 increase in incidental fees generates about $215,000 in added revenue.

In other action, the regents declared the institution's intention to be a "moderately selective" university in terms of admissions as defined by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Stroup said Southeast's admissions criteria already make it a moderately selective school in most respects.

Regent Ann Dombrowski praised the admission standards. "I don't feel we are closing out an education to anyone."

The moderately selective requirements will take effect in fall 1996 for first-time, full-time freshmen and transfer students who have completed fewer than 24 hours of course work.

Non-traditional students who are at least 21 years of age and who have been graduated from high school for at least three years are exempt from the new policy and may be considered for admission, university officials said.

Stroup said that for the limited number of students who don't meet the admissions criteria, there are a number of alternate ways to obtain an education.

Students, she said, can attend the Bootheel Education Center in Malden, community colleges, or Southeast's new summer preparatory academy.

Others can attend Southeast as part-time, special students until they demonstrate their ability to carry a full academic load.

There are also exemptions for students not served by a community college district and a blanket exemption of up to 10 percent of the beginning freshmen enrolled at Southeast, Stroup said.

The statewide core curriculum requirement is expected to improve the scores of collegebound high school seniors, improving their chances of being admitted to moderately selective institutions, Stroup said.

The regents approved a construction schedule for the planned Rosengarten Athletic Complex and a contract to build a transmission tower in connection with the boosting of broadcast power for KRCU-FM, the National Public Radio station at Southeast.

The athletic complex, named for recently retired athletic development director Marvin Rosengarten, will house the athletic department administrative offices and football coaching offices.

The project involves an addition to the existing football practice facilities. The building will be accessible from Sprigg Street, university officials.

Included in the building will be a sports medicine facility, state-of-the-art weight and athletic training facilities, meeting rooms and an academic services center for the athletes.

Construction will progress in two phases, with the first being construction of the new addition. Private funding will pay the $470,915 cost, said Dobbins.

When additional private funds become available, work will commence on renovations to existing athletic offices, he said.

Project architect is Thomas E. Phillips of Cape Girardeau. Bids are scheduled to be opened April 21. Construction is scheduled to be completed by mid-September, Dobbins said.

The board approved a contract with Central Tower Inc. to erect a 230-foot-high radio transmission tower for KRCU Radio. The tower will be constructed adjacent to the radio station at 338 N. Henderson.

The tower will replace the existing transmitter tower situated on the roof of Academic Hall, as well as expand the station's broadcasting service radius from five miles to at least 25 miles. It will also enhance efforts to obtain operational grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, officials said.

University officials said the new tower and transmission equipment will allow KRCU to boost its power from 100 to 6,000 watts.

Estimated cost of the total transmission project is $236,327. Construction will begin within a month and be completed by the end of summer, Dobbins said.