1. 1855 Place housing rate recommendations and University Village Apartments

In April 2015, rates were set at $800 per person per month for one bedroom and $925 for two bedroom family apartments per person per month. These rates will remain the same, with the addition of new rates for different room sizes.

The new rates for a four-bedroom efficiency unit at $785 per person per month, $810 per person per month for a four-bedroom flat unit, and $850 for a four-bedroom townhouse apartment per person per month. Rates for a two-bedroom efficiency unit are $875 per person per month and $895 per person per month for a two-bedroom standard unit. For a studio unit, rates are set at $995 per person per month.

Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Vennie Gore said the units will include a long list of amenities, ranging from a playground for children, basketball and volleyball courts, lounges, exercise facilities, a garden and many other amenities for students to enjoy.

1855 Place is accepting applications for residents now, and will begin leasing for four-bedroom, two-bedroom and single students in 2017.

2. 2016-17 maintenance projects

Maintenance projects for roads, roofs and other structures were approved by the Board of Trustees throughout the year.

A list of buildings and areas of campus that will be affected are Wells Hall, Communication Arts and Sciences Building, Student Services and Trowbridge Road.

3. The reconstruction and expansion of Parking Lot 92

Lot 92, which is more than 40 years old, was approved for a reconstructing and expansion by the Board of Trustees.

The lot is on Service Road across the street from the Radiology Department and Clinical Center buildings, and is used as parking for veterinary medical students and also as recreation vehicle parking during game days at MSU, among others.

4. Move to create a new data center for high performance computing

The MSU Board of Trustees moved to set $46 million as a total budget to the efforts of constructing a data center focused towards data analytics for the university.

The project will be located on the south side of East Crescent Road and will focus on development and access of applications by students and staff, analytics for teaching purposes, business performance and increased security.

5. Admissions demands for MSU still high

According to a preliminary enrollment report, about 37,500 applications were received by the Office of Admissions this year, which is an increase of 2,000 from last year. 

The class of 2020, which is compromised of summer and fall enrollees, is approximately 7,950 students. Of the undergraduate student population, 75.6 percent are Michigan residents. Female student enrollment is up by .2 percent.