VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Board of Trustees approved a $361.1 million biennial budget at its meeting June 26 at the Indiana Center for Applied Technology.

VU’s budget includes a continued investment in the future of its students, facilities, faculty, and staff.

The budget assumes a state operating appropriation of $42.9 million for 2019-20 and $43.6 million for 2020-21.

Board Chair John Stachura and Finance/Revenue Committee Chair and First Vice Chair Mike Sievers commended Vice President for Financial Services and Government Relations Phil Rath and his teams for their great efforts in managing and obtaining the resources to support the University’s work.

“We’ve got the money to stay busy and good plans to do so,” Stachura said.

“The increased appropriation and new capital monies received from the state are a recognition of support of the mission of Vincennes University and is a sign of faith in VU’s management of its resources,” said VU President Chuck Johnson.

Sievers also praised Rath and Financial Services for achieving a prime, high quality bond credit rating of Aa3 from Moody’s.

The budget includes tuition increases for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years.

Tuition for a full-time Indiana resident will increase $172 in 2019-20, bringing the total to $6,074. The cost in 2020-21 will be $6,250 per year, which is $176 more than the previous year.

VU continues to offer the lowest total cost among residential colleges in Indiana, saving Hoosiers thousands of dollars. It has the state’s second-lowest tuition rates.

Johnson added, “VU is dedicated to being Indiana’s best education value due to the great return on investment that we offer. VU remains the leading provider of career and technical education, resulting in highly-skilled graduates who earn high wages. At the same time, VU maintains its status as the state’s premier transfer institution.”

Rath told the Board that the additional tuition and fees will cover increasing operational costs including instructional and support services, repair and rehabilitation, maintenance, utilities, and the instructional technology and equipment needed to deliver a world-class education.

The budget includes $45.3 million in capital projects that will be used to enhance VU’s instructional facilities.

During the meeting, VU also reaffirmed its commitment to the city of Vincennes.

The Board approved the Finance/Revenue Committee’s recommendation to make a lead contribution of $2 million to the city’s levee seepage relief project.

The $2 million support will be used to supplant aged wells along the levee segment that runs from Green Activities Center north to Kimmell Park. The estimated cost of the project is $5 million.

“VU is fully committed to efforts that support the community and the people in it,” Rath said. “With this funding and the others who are contributing from around the community, the levee project will be fully supported and we can expect to have certification of the levee completed this year.”

Updates were presented by Heidi Whitehead, director of Admissions, and Rick Kribs, assistant provost of Curriculum and Instruction and chair of VU’s Retention Committee.

Whitehead reported enrollment for incoming students at VU is expected to be higher at most locations, including the VU campus. She provided especially promising data for students from Illinois with applications and enrollment both up.

Kribs shared the many different programs and initiatives VU currently has in place to support student retention and success for all different types of students. The committee is focusing on evaluating and introducing programs to help achieve strategic retention and student success goals set by the University.

Those goals align with the state’s performance funding metrics for persistence and completion under which VU has done well in recent years.

VINCENNES UNIVERSITY - Indiana’s First College

VU is state-supported with campuses in Vincennes and Jasper, the Aviation Technology Center and American Sign Language program in Indianapolis, Early College Career and Technical Education Centers, and additional sites such as the Gene Haas Training and Education Center in Lebanon, the Logistics Training and Education Center in Plainfield, and the Gibson County Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics in Fort Branch. A leader in developing Early Colleges statewide, VU also offers instruction at military sites throughout the nation.

In addition to offering a wide range of associate degree and certificate programs, VU also offers bachelor’s degree programs in technology, homeland security, nursing, secondary education programs in mathematics and science, and special education/elementary education.

VU enrolls students from throughout Indiana, 35 other states, and 17 countries. Tuition and fees are the lowest among Indiana campuses with residence halls. VU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Founded in 1801, VU is Indiana’s first college and is the only college in the nation founded by an individual who would later become President of the United States. William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. President, founded VU while serving as governor of the Indiana Territory. More information is available at www.vinu.edu.

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Vincennes University Newsroom

MARCIA MARTINEZ, University Life Reporter & Sports Information Director
   812-888-4164 office, 314-599-1519 cell, VUNews@vinu.edu, mmartinez@vinu.edu
VINCENNES UNIVERSITY, Department of University Relations, www.vinu.edu/news/newsroom