College Trustees Approve Programs in 2003 - 4 Budget

At its February meeting, held in New York City, the Ithaca College Board of Trustees discussed a number of important issues related to the College and approved the budget for the 2003 - 4 school year.

In their discussions prior to adopting the budget, trustees considered the challenges facing the College due to the current national economic downturn. The drop in the stock market has meant a decline in the College's endowment, while rising health-care costs have added to the expense side of the ledger.

In accord with one of the highest priorities in the institutional plan, the board approved additional support for two of the College's diversity initiatives. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program, which grants substantial financial assistance to students who have historically been underrepresented in American higher education because of their ethnic and/or racial background, will be funded for a second year. The budget will also finance development of new academic programs proposed by the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity, which provides a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective on the experiences of groups that have traditionally been marginalized, under-represented, or misrepresented in the United States and the world.

The budget also includes funding to contract with a provider for an employee assistance program as part of the services available to faculty and staff through the Office of Human Resources. Such programs typically offer counseling and referral services to employees dealing with issues ranging from time management and interpersonal conflicts to family crises and substance abuse.

The board also approved a tuition increase of five and one-half percent for the 2003 - 4 school year. The budget sets tuition at $22,264 and standard room and board charges at $9,466, bringing the total cost of attending next year to $31,730. A major component of the increase in room costs is the rising expense related to meeting student demand for Internet bandwidth in residence halls. Additionally, beginning next year unlimited local telephone service will be included in the room rate.

In a letter to students' parents announcing the charges, President Peggy R. Williams wrote that the modest increase reflects an ongoing commitment to supporting and enhancing the College's academic programs. "Ithaca has long maintained a practice of good fiscal management, with timely and appropriate investment in our programs and facilities. The result is a high-quality education consistently cited in college guides and national magazines as one of the 'best values' in higher education."

The College also maintains an ongoing effort to make an Ithaca education accessible for all students through comprehensive institutional financial aid, she wrote, adding, "We continue to work very hard with the federal and state governments to ensure that important assistance programs are available for students and families. If you are a New York State resident, I urge you to write letters to Governor Pataki and your state legislators encouraging them to adopt a budget that supports access to higher education and that maintains and enhances the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)."

Despite the increase in tuition, the cost of attending Ithaca College will remain relatively inexpensive in comparison with peer institutions. Pointing to a group of 20 regionally competitive private colleges and universities with which the College has compared itself for the past two decades, Williams noted in her letter to parents that Ithaca's 2003 - 4 tuition is the third lowest even when matched against those institutions' 2002 - 3 charges.