WSU HAS $2.4M SHORTFALL AFTER DROP IN ENROLLMENT

University’s financial leaders say school can overcome revenue loss.

Wright State financial leaders told the school’s trustees Friday the university should be able to overcome revenue shortfalls due to this school year’s decreased enrollment.

Tuition came in close to $2.1 million under estimates in August, which will translate to a $2.4 million revenue shortfall for the entire academic year. The bigger-than-expected drop means Wright State is generating a total of $5.6 million less in tuition and fees than last year.

Tuition and fees are Wright State’s largest source of revenue, as it is for most colleges. Enrollment was the cause of the revenue dip. The university has 15,558 students enrolled this fall, marking the first time total enrollment dropped below 17,000 since 2007.

“In years past it’s surprised me at least the amount of money that was spent that was never budgeted ... how confident are you though that there is still not something out there that we just don’t know about?” board chairman Doug Fecher asked the school’s administration.

This fall’s surprise tuition slump is reminiscent of unexpected shortfalls and expenses that kept popping up at Wright State throughout fiscal year 2018, which ended July 1.

Around $5.5 million in unexpected health care costs occurred last spring for employees or their families who are covered by the university’s health care plan. Unbudgeted scholarship and fellowship expenses also cost the school around $3.5 million last fall.

But Wright State’s financial leaders told the board of trustees Friday the tuition dip shouldn’t prevent the school from producing the $3 million surplus mandated by the fiscal year 2019 budget.

Chief business officer Walt Bran-

son told the board he is “98 percent” confident the budget is in line with the university’s expenses. While Branson said he still anticipates some unexpected expenses, he said they will likely be smaller than last year’s.

Wright State’s board slashed more than $30.8 million from the school’s budget in June 2017 but that proved not to be enough. The school ended up having to reduce spending by around $53 million by the time the 2018 fiscal year ended, Branson said.

“I think we will find surprises still . ... If we knew about them, we got them in and I don’t know of anything that’s not in at this point,” Branson said. “But I’d be surprised if we didn’t get surprises.”