Tuition, student fees on Finance Committee meeting agenda Thursday

Southern Oregon University President Rick Bailey is scheduled to deliver his realignment plan aimed at balancing the school’s structural deficit at a Board of Trustees meeting this Friday, preceded by a Finance and Administration Committee meeting on Thursday.

The meeting on Friday is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and run until 5 p.m., and the meeting on Thursday will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Meese Room on the third floor of the Hannon Library, 1290 Ashland St. The meetings are open to the public and there will be opportunities for in-person attendance or via Zoom.

Thursday’s agenda includes a vice president’s report with updates on Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), fiscal impacts of proposed legislative initiatives, and the university’s core Information System Replacement project and capital projects.

The Finance and Administration committee will also discuss:

•  The budget development process and the timeline for fiscal year 2023-24; financial sustainability including revenue and expense projections; and the budget forecast with a review of the financial pro forma.

• Updates from the Tuition Advisory Council, which is being tasked to submit the lowest tuition rate increase for a public higher ed institute in the state; the Student Fee Budget Committee; and the Student Fee Allocation Committee. 

On Friday, the SOU Board of Trustees will review and take public comment on President Bailey’s 41-page realignment plan, “SOU Forward.” The plan will cut the equivalent of nearly 83 full-time positions, or 13% of SOU’s workforce, according to a previous report by Ashland.news. About two dozen of the cuts will result in current employees losing their jobs. The realignment cuts are expected to reduce costs by $3.6 million this year, and yield $9 million in recurring cost reductions. 

No action will be taken on the proposed plan at this meeting, according to the agenda.

The board will hold an extended public comment period up to 90 minutes during this meeting, according to the agenda.

Individuals wanting to provide public comments at the meeting are invited to sign up to speak remotely or in person, or to submit their comments in writing at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting to the Board of Trustees’ email address: trustees@sou.edu. 

Public comments also may be delivered by hand or mailed to the SOU Board of Trustees, 1250 Siskiyou Boulevard, Churchill Hall, Room 107, Ashland OR 97520.

To learn more about trustees and to keep track of meetings, minutes, and more, go online to governance.sou.edu. 

Source: SOU meeting announcements, linked above. Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at hollyd@ashland.news.