Part of the reason for the delay in passing a full annual budget is that the trustees are waiting to see what funding is approved for the public university in the Ohio budget, which has yet to be signed.
MORE: Initial WSU fall enrollment shows double digit decline
The two-year state operating budget just passed the Ohio Senate. A budget will need to be signed by Gov. Mike DeWine by June 30.
“The other part is that we’re waiting to see what the enrollment projections are going to be,” said Wright State spokesman Jim Hannah.
The Dayton Daily News reported last week that fewer students have signed up so far for the fall semester than had signed up the same time last year.
Enrollment 11 weeks out from the state of the school year was 9,086 students compared to 10,517 students enrolled 11 weeks out from the start of the 2018 fall semester. These numbers do not include the Boonshoft School of Medicine, which had about 480 medical students last year.
Tuition revenue is Wright State’s largest single source of income. Fewer students means less money flowing into the school, which is trying to recover from financial issues that forced it to slash around $53 million from its budget in fiscal year 2018.
Those enrollment figures are a snapshot of how many students signed up 11-weeks out but is not an enrollment projection.
A headcount is typically taken two weeks into fall semester, which is the official number Wright State and other state colleges are required to report to the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
MORE: Wright State budget chief: Past enrollment projections didn’t rely on data
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