BLINN BOARD REVIEWS PROPOSED TUITION, FEE INCREASES FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR
The Blinn Board of Trustees went through what the tuition and fee rates for next fiscal year might look like at its meeting on Tuesday.
meeting showing the timeline of tuition and general
fee rates since Fiscal Year 2020.
(courtesy Blinn College)
The College is proposing increases of $1 per semester credit hour for in-district, out-of-district and non-resident students, along with a $3 increase in general fees per semester credit hour.
Blinn Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance Dr. Clen Burton said the increase in tuition and fees over the years has been slow and steady by design, in order to avoid overwhelming students.
Dr. Burton said the higher rates would generate an additional $1.45 million in revenue from the current fiscal year.
The College is proposing an average of 1 percent increase in its housing rates. Dr. Burton said there is an expected loss of $380,000 in housing revenue, due to the pending demolition of four residence halls: Buccaneer, Katherine Atkinson, Lockett and Spencer.
For meal rates, a projected average increase of 1 percent would net $14,400 in increased revenue.
Tuesday’s discussion on the new tuition and fees was only for informational purposes. The rates will come before the board for a formal vote at its regular meeting in April.
The College is also waiting to see the amount it receives for the coming fiscal year in state appropriations from House Bill 8, a new community college funding model passed in the 88th Texas Legislature that shifts from funding based on contact hours to student outcomes.
Figures from the presentation show that the College is planning for an extra $6.28 million, but Dr. Burton said there will be updated rules for Fiscal Year 2025 from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the College will not know what those updates are until mid-April. Executive Vice Chancellor Leighton Schubert said from what he has seen thus far, he does not believe the College needs to lower its projections for the amount of state revenue it will receive.
In other business on Tuesday, the board heard a report from Vice Chancellor for Student Services Dr. Becky McBride, showing the preliminary spring enrollment figures are ahead of last year’s certified totals.
As of February 12, 15,720 students had registered for spring classes, ahead of last year’s final figure of 15,685. Blinn enrolled 2,128 students for the winter minimester, a 3.14 percent decrease from last year.
The board also:
- Approved updates to Blinn’s strategic plan. The updates apply to recommendations for strategic priorities in the plan: student success, performance excellence, and planned growth.
- Authorized the College to negotiate and execute contracts for flooring replacement in Buildings 4, 5, and 7 at Blinn College Park Apartments on the Brenham Campus; and interior finish upgrades in Buildings C and H on the Bryan Campus; and the demolition of Buccaneer, Katherine Atkinson, Lockett, and Spencer halls on the Brenham Campus.
The old dorms are more affordable to students, so a 1% increase in room rates sounds great but it is offset by fewer affordable rooms which nets out to a large increase in actual rents being paid by the students that would have lived there.
This does not happen in a free, open, competitive market. However, Blinn has a captive market and they know that. They probably also know about how even A&M got stung by the bankruptcy of some of its fancy new student housing.
I don’t mean to play down all the great things that Blind does and overall it’s an exceptional institution, but what’s really unfortunate for our community is that they aren’t bothering to either sell the old dorms or find an operator to lease them. Our community has a shortage of affordable housing. Creating empty lots full of weeds does absolutely nothing to help the community.
Pretty soon there will be no history of Blinn left on the Brenham campus. How about changing a dorm into a little history of Blinn museum? Some of those dorms have beautiful rock that will just end up in a landfill. Makes me so sad.
Great idea! Spencer Hall would make a great Blinn museum!!