It will cost most incoming Illinois State University undergraduate students about $1,143 more next school year, according to recommendations the administration is making to the Board of Trustees.
That’s about a 4.15% overall increase in tuition, fees, room and board. Trustees on Friday will consider making the undergraduate total cost to attend ISU about $30,605 for most students.
Tuition increases alone would be about 5% of the previous rate for most students. Students in so-called "differential" programs — Mennonite College of Nursing, College of Business, College of Engineering, cybersecurity, and computer science — would pay 15% higher tuition than the base rate.
Those students will pay an average of 4.2%, or about $1,234 more per year, under the plan. Tuition has not increased in the last three years, though dining, dorm, and other fees did go up during that period.
Out-of-state students also face higher tuition rates and higher fees. The proposal would increase graduate student tuition by 5%. And graduate students do not have the four-year tuition freeze guaranteed by state law for new undergraduate students.
STEM building
Trustees also will consider a plan to finance construction of a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math [STEM] and science lab building to replace the Felmley Science Annex that opened in 1963.
The new building would be a four-story, 43,700-square-foot structure with a greenhouse at the top. That’s a little more than half the square footage of the current facility.
The “Illinois General Assembly has appropriated $29.2 million, representing approximately half of the project’s total cost, and this funding has been released to the CDB [Capital Development Board], which requires verification of ISU’s available funds to support the university’s cost share before proceeding,” states documents prepared for trustees.
ISU would use the Academic Enhancement Fee [AEF] as the funding source for debt service associated with the university’s share of the estimated $60-70 million new STEM building. The fee generates nearly $17 million per year to support academic buildings and spaces.
The proposal would place a $4 million per year cap on debt service for the project. The university also has expressed hope for federal funding for the project.
Final design documents and a more precise cost estimate will come out later this spring. ISU hopes to open the facility in the fall of 2028.
Other spending
- The administration also wants the board to sign off on spending for several other projects, including:
- A $3.2 million bid for new sound, lighting, and public address systems at the Center for Performing Arts. The existing systems date to 2002.
- Not more than $6 million for the next five years for security services from Securitas. That includes unarmed campus foot patrols, unlocking and locking exterior doors of buildings, and conducting security checks of doors, windows, and alarm systems, which frees up ISU police for other duties.
- Up to $11.1 million for three years of databases and electronic journals at Milner Library. Documents indicate there is a volume discount from the past practice of annual subscriptions. It also transfers subscriptions of some print micro-publications to e-versions. The annual increase based on the last one-year contract would be about $200,000.
- A maximum of $1.5 million to repaint the interior of Watterson Towers, the largest campus residence hall at 28 stories tall. That will buy 750,000 square feet of wall paint, or enough to cover 13 football fields. That project will go to bid.
Student insurance
Administrators said the cost of student health insurance policies would stay the same — $285 per fall and spring semester. Summer semester policies are lower. The administration fee for the Aetna plan would rise slightly, but ISU would offset that increase with university reserves.
“This plan provides higher benefits at a significantly lower cost than all other State of Illinois schools with plans that are compliant with the ACA,” according to board documents.
Naming rights
There are two hitting bays in the Jim and Carole Mounier Golf Performance Lab at Weibring Golf Club. Trustees are being asked to authorize naming them the “Sarah Loomis Hitting Bay” and the [Rick] “Percy Family Hitting Bay” in recognition of financial support.
The concourse in CEFCU Arena would be named for community business owners and philanthropists Bob and Julie Dobski.
