The agenda for the Council of Trustees meeting began with a proposed housing and dining fee increase for BU students. This was a pretty important meeting as it was going to effect everyone who took advantage of on campus housing and dining.

     The proposed increase, which was approved, will raise the fee by three percent. That may not seem like a lot, but for paying college students, a small amount is going to make all the difference in the world. Double occupancy, non-air-conditioned housing for the 2017-18 academic year will cost $3,040 dollars.

     Flex will also see an increase, rising from $200 to $250. “Flex allows them [students] to use it as cash at locations around campus,” said Dione Somerville, Ph.D. Flex has been around most college campuses for quite a while, and students depend on it.

     Also on the agenda was the proposed fee schedule for the 2017-18 academic year. It was approved and will not experience many changes. The board of governors will determine the technology and academic fees in July, and students are hoping they will not be raised too much, if at all. John Loonan said, “We’re not the highest in fee structure or the lowest, we’re somewhere in the middle.”

     A hot topic during the meeting was Credit Based Certificates, one for Medical Genomics and Counseling, one for Pre-Med Science Studies and the last for Digital Rhetoric and Professional Writing. All of which were approved.

     Presented by Ira Blake,  Ph.D., each certificate has its own requirements, and the only way they knew which ones were best for BU students was the Program Market Demand Analysis. “…it is a credential…they have value in the real world,” said Blake.

     Each certificate is dedicated to certain majors offering certain credits. They are all either face-to-face, online or both. While BU is projecting these three so far, there could be more to come.

     The BU Foundation Contract was proposed and approved after exceeding its’ goal of $50 million dollars. The $1.9 million-dollar contract has a five-year term, ending in June of 2018 and beginning in July of 2018.

     From the President’s Notes, the College of Business will be holding their own version of Shark Tank. The popular television series where people present their own products to try and get one of the five donors to “bite.” This will be held on April 18, a prize of $10,000 will be awarded to the one that has the best invention. Students and faculty alike are looking forward to this particular event that will be held on campus.