SEMO TO CONSIDER $71 MILLION BUDGET

Southeast Missouri State University expects to spend about $71 million to educate students next fiscal year.

University officials are crafting a budget that calls for spending some $3 million more for general operations than was budgeted for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

The increase is based on getting added state funding of more than $2 million plus about $755,000 in added revenue from hikes in student fees.

None of this is set in stone: The Missouri Legislature has yet to approve an estimated $46.4 million in state funding for Southeast for fiscal 2000, and the Board of Regents still has to vote on the administration's plan to raise student fees.

The regents will consider the fee package when they meet next Wednesday.

Don Dickerson, president of the Board of Regents, said he doesn't know if the board will approve the fee package at that meeting. He said the regents may need more time to review the proposed fee hikes.

"We are not going to rush into a given request in a vacuum," he said Tuesday.

Dickerson said the regents must determine if the spending proposals are worth a tuition hike. Dickerson said the regents won't just vote for a fee plan without having some idea where the money would be spent.

The university's Budget Review Committee has recommended increasing the per-credit-hour fee by $4 for in-state undergraduates, $7 for out-of-state undergraduate and in-state graduate students, and by $13 for out-of-state graduate students.

The total cost to students would range from $107.50 per credit hour for in-state undergraduates to $216.50 per credit hour for out-of-state graduate students.

Included in the increased fees would be $1 per credit hour to help fund expanded health services on campus and help defray athletic program costs.

The increased general fee would generate an additional $200,000, said Dr. Ken Dobbins, Southeast's executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The Center for Health and Counseling would receive about $90,000 of that added revenue. The remaining $110,000 would go to the athletics department. The increased tuition would generate about $555,000 in added revenue for school operations, Dobbins said. In all, students would be paying about $22.5 million next school year.

Investment income, library fines and other revenue sources would generate another $2.1 million, budget officials have estimated.

The school's Budget Review Committee has yet to make final recommendations on how to spend the added money. But some of it would go for pay raises.

Money also could be spent on everything from recycling bins to funding for an academic advising center.

Dobbins said the university is considering hiring a risk-property manager to deal with insurance costs.

The Budget Review Committee won't make any final recommendations until it meets on April 28 for its annual marathon session. By then, the committee should have a better picture of state funding for fiscal 2000 and enrollment, Dobbins said.

The more students, the more revenue student fees generate.

The Budget Review Committee is chaired by Dobbins and includes representatives of the faculty and other employee groups, and students.

Dickerson said the university must continue to expand its services to compete with other colleges and universities. He said that requires students to shoulder much of the cost.

About 31 percent of college costs at Southeast are borne by the students. The rest comes largely from state funding.