A proposal has been made for an increase in room and board next semester, said Michael Stang, director of residential operations.

“Our goal is not to raise room and board prices, but to get the funds needed to keep up with the changes of the prices of the things students are offered,” he said.

How the process works

Stang said the proposed budget is made from the requests of each of the departments in Housing and Dining. The advisory committee then reviews the proposal and prepares a recommendation that eventually goes to a board of trustees.

The board of trustees include staff from Housing and Dining, Student Affairs, Finance and Facilities and students who are a part of the Residence Hall Association.

“We don’t get money from the state funds to cover the resident hall operations,” Stang said. “We are funded by the room and board fees.”

Stang said they make sure the proposed rates are as reasonable as possible. NIU is amongst the low end of room and board prices compared to other colleges and universities in Illinois.

“With our proposed rates, NIU will still be below what all the MAC schools are proposing for this current year,” Stang said.

Stang said residential operations tries to keep the increase as small as possible so room and board is still very reasonable for students.

Movin’ on up

Freddie McCoy, a sophomore sociology major, will move out of Lincoln Hall next semester and into an apartment. McCoy said he is looking forward to the privacy and money he will save.

“I think it is a lot cheaper to move into an apartment rather than stay in the dorms,” McCoy said.

Sophomore graphic design major Markesha Halbert said she wishes she could move out of the residence hall but chooses not to based on expenses.

“Right now, my loans cover my room and board so I don’t have to worry about spending my money on food or monthly bills that I would have to pay for if I moved into an apartment,” Halbert said. “I understand the more expensive things get the harder it is to find the money to pay for things. I really just don’t like paying more money for room and board.”

Stang knew students would be concerned about the changes in room and board prices, so he met with the RHA executive to make sure students understood what was going on and answered any questions students had.

“We wanted to make sure as many questions as we could answer were answered,” he said.

Stang said Housing and Dining and RHA will make sure students understand what is going on if the proposal is approved.

“We will walk through with the students on what we are composing and why we are composing it,” Stang said. “We will work to make sure they are in support of our proposal.”