Costs for housing and dining at Illinois State University may increase by 5% each in the next academic year, depending on a vote from ISU's governing body on Friday.
Meeting documents indicate a series of increased costs are driving the proposed fee increase for both housing and dining, including a higher minimum wage and higher costs for operational expenses like facility maintenance and repairs, utilities and overhead. Higher rates for property insurance also are cited.
If approved on Friday, the new rates would include:
- $3,243 per semester for a multiple occupancy room
- $4,315 per semester for a single occupancy room
- $2,747 per semester for a 7-day-a-week unlimited meal plan
- $2,612 per semester for a 5-day-a-week unlimited meal plan
Overall undergraduate tuition rates remain unchanged for the third year in a row, though ISU did implement differentiated tuition rates for some degree programs last year due to the cost of administering some of those courses.
If the 5% increases in housing and dining fees are approved, the sticker price for undergraduate attendance would increase by $578 per year: A 2% increase for students enrolled in differentiated degree programs, to $29,942 per year, and a 2.1% increase for all other undergraduate students, to $28,132 per year.
Trustees also will vote Friday to authorize an additional $1 million for expenses in repairing the Bone Student Center parking lot. The project, originally estimated to cost $4.1 million, is expected to be complete by this fall. Repairs will address uneven parking surfaces and large cracks in the asphalt that have led to surface water accumulating below the 445-space lot. The now-$5.1 million project also will include LED lights and three new electric vehicle charging stations.
Also on the board of trustees' agenda are upgrades to the School Street Parking Garage, expected to cost $1.3 million and be completed by this winter.
The board also will be anticipating the appointment of a new member to join its ranks. Julie Jones' term expired in January. Appointed to ISU's board in 2017 by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, Jones was voted chair of the board in 2019, marking the first time a Black woman held the position.
A replacement for Jones has not yet been announced from Gov. JB Pritzker.
