VICE PRESIDENT for the Loyola Schools (LS) John Paul Vergara, PhD announced an increase in the university’s budget expenditure for SY 2015-2016 and the preceding months during the Magtanong sa VP at mga Dekano forum.

The forum, held this year at the Faura Hall Audio Visual Room on February 11, is an avenue for the administration to inform the student body on the school budget.

Vergara said the total expenditures of the Ateneo will increase by 6% in the next school year, resulting in a 6% tuition hike.

He cited expenses due to major infrastructure projects, such as renovations for the PLDT-Convergent Technologies Center and the John Gokongwei School of Management buildings, the Social Sciences Building conference rooms, and the chemistry and physics laboratories.

These factors were also the catalyst for last year’s 6% tuition fee increase.

Vergara said that the student tuition fee has increased by an average of 5% yearly in the past decade.

As endorseed by the Ateneo Board of Directors, the tuition fee will continue to grow for the next school year.

The tuition rise will translate to a 12% growth in revenues of the university, which will compensate for the losses of the April to May period.

Moreover, Vergara said that the Ateneo will receive little to no revenue in April to May despite still incurring costs.

The deficit is caused by the academic calendar shift, with the summer term from April to May being rescheduled to the months of June and July.

In addition, Vergara said that the administration intends to increase the freshmen population to be accepted for the coming year to address both the shortfall in university revenue and a decrease of attendees in SY 2017-2018 due the academic calendar adjustment.

An estimated 2,700 freshmen students will be admitted, 500 more than the current 2,300 freshmen enrolled.

Allocation

According to Vergara, an average of 70% of all total tuition revenue goes to the salaries and benefits of the faculty and staff of the LS.

In SY 2015-2016, 62.44% of the projected budget will be allocated for the salaries and benefits of the Ateneo faculty and staff.

Scholarships and financial aid, with a portion of 15.28%, represent the second largest expenditure of the university.

The remaining 22.28% will be spent, in order of decreasing share, on central services, supplies and expenses, capital expenditures, utilities and technological costs.

Moreover, the Rizal Library and the Residence Halls, independent units of the LS, will maintain balanced budgets for the coming school year.

 Student fees

Vergara said that the Student Activities Fee will remain consistent with past years, while the Publication Fee is still under the administration’s consideration.

The said fees are standalone costs that are represented individually on the tuition receipt. The fees are also restricted, which means that any surplus collected will be saved for the next year.

Under the Student Activities Fee, the Ateneo Commission on Elections, the Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly, the Department of Student Welfare and Services, the Sanggunian and its individual units, and the Student Judicial Court receive an average of P2.5 million.

Moreover, the Council of Organizations of Ateneo is allocated P2 M, while the 52 organizations of the Ateneo receive P30,000 each.

According to Vergara the collection of the student activities fee has resulted in a surplus for the past three years, allowing the admin to overspend for its disbursements.

However, he said that the fee’s buffer is starting to taper off and that P11 M is targeted for collection next year.

In contrast, the publication fee, the allocation for the different student publications in the Ateneo, was reduced by 30% this school year.

Vergara cited the decrease in the use of paper in publications as a cause for the reduction.

He added that the Ateneo collected an average of P10 million for the past three years under the Publications Fund.

He said that due to rising costs, the administration is considering to increase the Publication Fee back again to its original cost prior to the 30% decrease.

The final rendering of the budget is to be approved by the Board of the Directors in May.