Yielding to the state system's tuition freeze, Slippery Rock University officials have rescinded the tuition increase they requested earlier this year.

At its April 29 meeting, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education approved a recommended tuition freeze across all of its 14 universities.

SRU President William Behre said university officials had decided before the PASSHE meeting to rescind their request for a 3.5 percent increase, which was made at a board of trustees meeting before the pandemic struck.

“It's been a team effort,” Behre said. “This is an amazing community.”

Thursday's meeting was the first quarterly board of trustees meeting since the request for the tuition increase, and the board unanimously approved to officially rescind the request.

Molly Mercer, SRU's chief financial officer, presented updated information for the 2019-20 fiscal year during a finance committee meeting Thursday.

Mercer's report corroborated estimated financial impacts reported by Behre last week. The university stands to see a net loss of more than $3 million. SRU's affiliates stand to lose a net value of around $4 million for a combined total of around $7 million.

[naviga:h3]Student refunds[/naviga:h3]

Mercer's report also showed $9.3 million in refunds given to students in the first week of April to offset the costs of the spring semester. She said the refunds reflected the fees students would pay if they were on campus, including housing, meals and parking as a few examples.

Mercer said it was helpful that SRU has some programs and classes online, which the administration used as a parallel to help calculate these costs.

“We eliminated all the fees they would not otherwise be paying if they were online,” she said.

While much of the report showed losses, there was a breakdown of incoming federal funding. SRU is set to receive around $7.4 million from the CARES Act.

Mercer clarified some stipulations that come with the federal funding. She said the funding is broken down into two halves. The first half must be spent directly on students. The second half could be used by the university to offset lost assets.

Concerning the half set aside for students, Mercer said SRU received access to the funding last week and began distributing awards of $500 to around 4,000 students. SRU's enrollment is roughly 9,000 students.

Mercer said the university used data provided through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. She said funds were given to students whose expected family contribution ranged from zero to almost $15,000.

“We focused on our neediest students who we had data on,” Mercer said.

With leftover funding, a portal has been created on SRU's website which will allow students to apply directly for similar assistance.

Mercer said this will allow the university to help students whose situations have changed since their FAFSA information was filed due to job losses of students or their parents or other circumstances.

Mercer said the application portal is simple, easy to complete and available for about another two weeks.

[naviga:h3]Outlook for future[/naviga:h3]

Mercer's report also detailed an early look at the 2020-21 fiscal year, which likely will change by this time next year. The early prediction shows SRU with a budget of $148.7 million and anticipated revenues of $144.3 million. The prediction shows a net deficit of $4.4 million.

The prediction takes into account a number of variables that could change, including state allocation and enrollment figures, among others. It also accounts for the lack of a tuition increase.

“We're very aware that many of our students and their parents are not employed right now,” said Bill McCarrier, chairman of the finance committee. “We're very confident that our staff can overcome much of this.”

Donations to the university also may slow due to the pandemic.

According to updated figures presented Thursday, the university's gift income report showed $2.17 million for fiscal year 2020-21.

Dennis Washington, vice president for university advancement, said last year's gift income was $2.26 million.

“In this environment, when we're not able to meet with our donors face to face, we have to meet with them virtually,” Washington said.

He said the opportunity to meet with more than 400 donors virtually has possibly strengthened their relationship. But the COVID-19 pandemic still poses a threat to the university's ability to raise funds through donation.

“It is going to be more and more challenging over the next six weeks as we finish out the year,” Washington said. “There's no question the campaign will take longer.”

Trustee Bob Taylor said reaching the university's goal of $3.25 million in donations will be an uphill battle at this point, but was pleased with the work that has been accomplished.