Elon University trustees have approved a $96.7 million 2004-05 budget that includes major new investments in academic programs. Details...
The budget includes funding for 13 new full-time faculty positions and a reduction in class sizes, concentrated in freshman and sophomore undergraduate courses. Trustees also set tuition and fees for next year and discussed the issue of establishing a school of law at their annual meeting, held March 9-10 on campus.
Trustees have approved 64 additional faculty positions since 2000, an increase of 32 percent in the full-time faculty numbers in just four years. The 2004-05 budget also includes new funds for faculty research and sabbaticals, enabling professors to remain current in their fields and in student engagement. Funding for student research projects will also be expanded, giving more undergraduates opportunities to partner with faculty on in-depth scholarly research.
An additional $223,000 will be invested in the library acquisition budget in the fifth year of the library development plan, and new technology spending will include additional classroom data projectors, increased network bandwidth, and enhanced computer security.
Students will have access to increased scholarship funding and study abroad grants, and there are significant budget increases for student health services, counseling, campus recreation, and safety and security.
New facilities will include a recreation complex located just south of campus on 75 acres of land acquired from Elon Homes for Children. This new home for club sports will include playing fields for men’s and women’s rugby, soccer, and lacrosse; a field for the new club baseball team; and a practice field for the Fire of the Carolinas Marching Band. The first fields will be available for use in spring 2005.
Construction this summer will also include phase two of the residence hall air conditioning project. Last summer, cooling was added to West, Virginia and Sloan halls; this summer, air conditioning will be added to Smith, Carolina, Hook, Brannock and Barney halls. A Haggard Avenue pedestrian safety project will also be completed this summer. Four raised cobblestone and brick pedestrian walkways will provide clearly designated safety zones and slow traffic through the campus.
Trustees approved a 5.96 percent increase in tuition, room, and board for next year. Tuition and fees will total $17,555 and room and board will cost $6,010. Elon’s costs continue to be well below the average of other private colleges and universities -– 18 percent below the national private college average, 35 percent below the average in New England and 26 percent below the middle states region average. Elon has the second-lowest tuition among the top-10 private colleges and universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report in the southern region.