(Bowling Green, OH) Bowling Green State University blames modest state funding and stagnant enrollment for a nearly flat budget next year.
The BGSU board of trustees this week approved a $422 million spending plan, just a one-and-half percent increase from last year. The budget only puts about $1.6 million away in the rainy day fund, about half as much as the three prior years.
State funding for higher education is expected to remain flat next year, because that money is now based on student success, such as graduation rates instead of enrollment. But the number of students attending BGSU also dipped slightly last fall after three straight years of enrollment growth.
Enrollment this fall is only expected to rebound slightly to just under 15-thousand students. That's also playing a factor in the budget, which is mainly increasing due to hikes in contractual obligations the university is facing.