The University of Toledo Board of Trustees approved Wednesday investments in efforts to grow student enrollment at the University and patient volumes at the hospital.
Aligned with UToledo President Gregory Postel’s key initiative to develop and implement a strategic enrollment management plan, the University is making changes to reduce the surcharge for high performing students outside of Ohio to better attract them to campus.
Students who are not residents of Ohio pay approximately $9,360 more per academic year to attend UToledo than in-state students. Currently students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher receive an $8,000 discount bringing the total out of pocket expense to $1,360.
The Board of Trustees approved at its regular meeting Feb. 9 moving forward with a pilot program for high-achieving students that would charge a flat $100 surcharge per semester for qualifying students. To qualify, incoming students would need to be new out-of-state students directly from high school who enroll for the first time in fall 2022 with a minimum 3.5 GPA in high school. The proposal will be sent to the Ohio Department of Higher Education for approval.
“To grow enrollment, UToledo must look outside traditional territories and we are increasing efforts to recruit students from outside the northwest Ohio region to our campuses,” said Dave Meredith, vice president for enrollment management. “This new model would improve transparency of the cost of a UToledo education and help make our University more attractive to high performing students by removing the out-of-state surcharge barrier.”
UToledo also continued its practice of making room and board decisions ahead of the annual budgeting process to provide prospective and current students more time to make decisions about their plans for the upcoming school year.
The housing and meal plan rates approved by the Board of Trustees are effective for the fall 2022 semester. Housing rates for students entering the fifth cohort of the Toledo Tuition Guarantee will be increased a weighted average of 1.95% and housing rates will go up 3% for all continuing students not in a Tuition Guarantee cohort. Meal plans will increase 4%, which will help cover the cost of increased cost of operations but is lower than the consumer price index for the calendar year which was 6%.
Investing in The University of Toledo Medical Center, trustees approved the renovation of a cardiac cath lab to enhance cardiovascular services at the hospital. The lab cameras are an important imaging tool for treating patients with coronary blockages, heart failure, correction of structural defects and peripheral vascular blockages. The purchase of a new high-quality camera with 3D imaging, as well as the necessary renovations to the patient table and lab room, will total $2.18 million.
Trustees also approved a resolution of support for UTMC moving to a Level 2 Trauma Center. The hospital had received provisional approval and is currently recruiting personnel and making plans to begin providing that enhanced level of trauma care.
Trustees also approved collective bargaining agreements with two employee groups at UToledo.
The bargaining agreement between UToledo and The University of Toledo Police Patrolman’s Association is effective Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2024. The union membership approved the contract Dec. 13. The three-year agreement provides for a 3% market adjustment and 2% general increase effective Jan. 1, 2022 and increases aligned with non-bargaining unit professional staff effective Jan. 1, 2023 and Jan. 1, 2024.
The bargaining agreement between UToledo and The University of Toledo Chapter of the American Association of University Professors – College of Law is effective Jan. 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2024. The union membership approved the contract Jan. 14. The agreement provides for a retroactive increase to base salary of $115,000 to be divided by the number of members eligible for the increase, market increases for clinical and legal writing faculty, and a lump sum payment of $5,000 to each member. In 2022 and 2023, 2% of the tenured, tenure-track bargaining unit members’ base salary total will be allocated to a 1% base salary increase and a 1% merit pool. Each clinical and legal writing faculty bargaining unit member will receive a 2% base salary increase each year.
Trustees also approved a reorganization of the College of Health and Human Services from four schools into three departments — Department of Population Health, Department of Exercise and Rehabilitation Services and Department of Human Services. The change was made to improve operational efficiency and create better programmatic alignment. The Board also approved the renaming of a department in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences to add the word cell, making it the Department of Cell and Cancer Biology, to broaden the research scope and help recruit faculty and students and external funding.
