Overview of the Memorial Union FY 15 Budget:

As leaders within the Memorial Union Organization, we are very pleased to present the FY 15 Memorial Union budget for your consideration.  The base budget would result in a decrease of the MU Student Fee of $1.98 per student, or a 2.7% decrease.  However, there are three Decision Packages that we feel are essential and justified by the opening of the MU East Wing (full year) and the Student Experience Center (half-year).  Even with these three Decision Packages, the fee would increase a mere 7 cents per student.  We are very proud of the work that has been done to keep the impact of opening these new spaces at this low of a cost impact.  The FY 15 budget is far less impactful on the Fee Impact estimate for a number of reasons.

NEW REVENUE:

• With new restaurants opening, additional commissions from MURFS of $13,340 are included.
• Opening of the MU East Wing provides more income to the MU Event Services unit.
• The OSU Printing and Mailing outlet and the Many Hands Trading outlet are open, adding another $60,305.
• The Pepsi agreement yielded another $34,070 that was not forecast in the FY 14 budget.
• The MU Basement is increasing its net income above expenses.
• Additional enrollment in F/W/S and Summer Term allowed a lower fee per student, with the same approximate yield in total dollars from Student Fees.

DECREASED COSTS:

• A net decrease in OPE is saving significant money across most indexes.
• A new plan by the VP of Student Affairs now waives the expense paid by Auxiliary Accounts for Tuition Remission, when employing Graduate Teaching Assistants.
• A temporary hold on additional projects and major repairs and maintenance for one year will occur, while the MU Building Services is focused on the start-up of new facilities.
• All of this rolled together has allowed us to expand our square footage of facilities serving students by 35% with a minimal fee increase of only 7 cents per student.  We are also benefiting from only having the SEC open for half-a-year, so that the cost impact is spread over two fiscal years, rather than just one.

Over the past several years, the impact of all of the new facilities and changes in major tenants has been forecast as high as $26 per student.  With the departure of the Bookstore occurring a year ago and the SEC opening mid-year, we are spreading out the impact of these changes over three years, versus seeing it all at once.  While many of these cost estimates were accurately estimated, a mix of good timing and favorable conditions have conspired to make the impact far less.  In addition to the work of the MU leaders, we offer appreciation and thanks to the AABC team for their work on our behalf to make all of this possible without detriment to students.

Complete Memorial Union Budget: MU 2014-15 Budget

Memorial Union Fund Balance Snapshot: MU Fund Balances Snapshot

Memorial Union Reserve Plan: MU Reserve Plan

Memorial Union Reserve Fund Transactions: MU Reserve Transactions

Memorial Union Exhibit E Payroll: MU Payroll Budget