Financial report boasts new figures

Jim Histand, vice president of finance, announced the tuition rates for the 2012-13 school year to students in an email on February 15, which showed a slight increase from the 2011-12 school year. Although Histand notes that these increases are similar to most years, they leave some students asking more questions about the finances of Goshen College.

An operating budget has been set for the 2012-13 school year to cover expenses such as labor, salaries, and benefits; financial aid; advertising and other administrative costs; and maintenance.

The total budget, which is funded by a variety of sources, is set at $31,931,164. Nearly 67 percent of the planned budget comes from undergraduate tuition costs. Almost 7 percent comes from contributions from donors, while another 7 percent comes from the payout of an endowment fund.

Other income comes from the Rec-Fitness Center and ticket sales to performances and athletic events.

Tuition received from adult, graduate and non-degree programs, combined with undergraduate tuition and residence fees contributes nearly 85 percent of the planned budgeted income from 2012-13. Some of that money directly contributes to residence hall building maintenance and the food contract with AVI Fresh, which was expensed in the 2011-12 school year at $1,107,710.

According to the 2010-11 GC Annual Report, which reported financial figures from the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, contributions and bequests from donors have slightly fallen from the previous 2010 fiscal year.

In fiscal year 2011, contributions and bequests added up to $3,005,878 which is lower than the total in 2010 at $3,558,122. Government grants and contracts, however, increased in 2011 to $541,882 from $526,236.

To view the entire annual report and other GC financial information, go to www.goshen.edu/give/ or www.goshen.edu/financevp/ .

Special attention should be paid to the years attributed to certain figures in this article, so as not to compare dissimilar facts of separate years. Any discrepancies in percentages reported are due to rounding.