06/28/23 - June Board of Regents Summary

Dear Colleagues,

As I mentioned the other day, I am grateful and proud of the work that the campus does to support our students. It is this work that makes NKU the university that we are today. The Board of Regents met on Wednesday, June 14th, where actions were taken to ensure we are positioned to support this region and provide our more than 15,000 students with an exceptional education. This has not been an easy semester, or year for that matter—and each one of us has felt the impact. The budget remains top of mind—as you saw from decisions made this week. 

The Board approved the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) operating budget consisting of projected revenues of $264,483,089 and expenses of $280,590,172, which requires the planned use of $16,107,083 of reserves. The reserves consist of $6.4 million in non-recurring expenses (one-time) and $9.6 million in recurring expenses. The Board also instructed university leadership to develop a plan to make reductions or
revenues, or a combination of both of at least another $5 million in FY24.

Though these moments in time are difficult, these changes will enable us to move forward as we address and react to the changing market demands while maintaining the highest quality of education for our students. As part of the 2023-2024 budget, the Board also approved the following:

• Tuition Increase of 3 percent. (Most regionals in state increased 3percent.)                                                                                                                                    ∗ Full-time undergraduate Kentucky resident tuition will increase $5,104 per semester to $5,256 per semester.                                                                  ∗ This is an increase of $152 a semester.
• Housing rate increase of 5.8 percent. (NKU remains among lowest housing rates in the state.)
• Dining plan increase of 8 percent. (Consistent with national food inflation
  percentages.)

To further strengthen its governance role,  the Board discussed the creation of two new standing Board committees – a committee on budget and finance and a committee on student and academic affairs. Included in this was the request to also expand the scope of the current Audit and Compliance Committee to include audit, risk, compliance and governance. Amendments to the Board of Regents Bylaws will take place at the September 2023 regular meeting.

As we continue to face the evolving landscape of higher education, we must remind ourselves of the tremendous and positive things that continue to take place each and every day at NKU. Click here to view some of the other amazing activities and celebrations that took place this past semester.

These examples show that despite the certain challenges we face, we always continue to remain strong and true to our mission, vision and values and grounded in the principles within. Like me, I hope you can see that there is much to be proud of and we have much to look forward to within this next year. We are and will continue to be
Northern Kentucky’s premier regional public Institution. We are NKU.

Go Norse!

Sincerely,

Bonita J. Brown, JD

Interim President