This article concludes the coverage of the Jan. 19 budget meeting, which began in the previous issue of The Guilfordian.
The Budget Committee met this year to map out the fiscal plan needed to reach the objectives set by Kent Chabotar, President of Guilford College. These objectives were to continue capital projects, raise CCE tuition, and, most importantly, increase faculty and staff salaries – all while balancing the budget.
The Budget Committee held an open forum on Jan. 19 to answer questions pertaining to the 2006-07 budget. Guilford plans to reach the 50th percentile of salaries among members of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) by 2010; staff salaries are projected to reach the 45th percentile. This means an average increase of 6 percent for faculty and 5.5 percent for staff salaries.
The salary increase would bring Guilford to the “middle of the pack” in relation to comparative schools. Unlike past years, there will not be a cost-of-living adjustment.
The salary increases will be based on merit and equity. Faculty members will be evaluated at the end of the year, and salary increases will be given on the basis of performance. Equity increases will be given to faculty and staff members whose salaries do not fall in the 50th or 45th percentile.
Spending on capital expenditures will continue at the same rate as last year. Since 2003, when the college began showing a modest profit, money has been invested back into the infrastructure. Neglected assets are being refurbished and improved.
One way the college will offset the increase in salaries and the capital spending is by increasing tuition. CCE tuition will increase from $239 to $249 per credit hour. A majority of CCE students receive state grants, and the college relies on that as a main source of income.
“For the last two springs, our spring enrollment had been less than our fall enrollment, so what we are seeing in CCE is that head count is not meeting our goals,” said Randy Doss, Vice President for Enrollment and Campus Life. “But head count is not the goal in CCE because CCE students are billed per hour. Virtually all of our traditional students are full time.”
CCE students may slightly outnumber traditional students in head count, but traditional students surpass CCE students in credit hours. For the college to maintain its enrollment goal with the CCE department, they can lose some students in head count as long as more credit hours are billed. The slight increase in CCE tuition will balance the decline in enrollment that the CCE department experiences in the fall semester.
“Honestly, I think CCE tuition is still reasonable compared to traditional student [tuition],” said CCE senior Laura Freeman. “I moved from an area where adult students paid exactly the same as traditional age students. I came to Greensboro because of Guilford. We should all be happy that we have this opportunity compared to what’s out there.”
The Budget Committee had a daunting task when they began work on the 2006-07 budget. They needed to find a way to close the $1.58 million gap while finding room in the budget to increase faculty and staff salaries and continue capital projects.
The committee managed to achieve their goals by projecting that a slight increase in enrollment combined with a 5.5 percent overall tuition increase for traditional students and a $10 increase per credit hour for CCE students should bring the budget to equilibrium.