MELA Minutes 2022-2023

5. MELO – The budget request was presented and approved. 6. $8,000 will be sent electronically to Itawamba Community College’s business office for the MELA 2024 Retreat. c. Budget Overview for FY2024 – Dr. LeBrun showed the FY2024 -2028 budget for current and contractual services. It is in the MELA course for us to view at any time and she will let us know when she updates it. She color-codes contracts that are in the pipeline differently in case the quote changes or the contract is not approved. Mr. Jason Zuehlke is the new Support Committee chair and will spearhead the CidiLabs and Yuja new features discussions. We received an increase in Ed Tech appropriations for fiscal year 2024. The presidents are working on fiscal year 2025 and would need to know what is coming down the pipeline before their meeting in October to approve any more increases in Ed Tech appropriations which funds our contractual services budget. The presidents were receptive to accessibility, they just wanted the comparison chart from the Support Committee for justification of pricing. Dr. LeBrun started working on the FY2025 report that is in the MELA course. She highlighted numbers that she can’t project, yet. Ms. Tish Stewart (HOLMES) asked if the new AI feature in Turnitin would require additional funds. Dr. LeBrun will check if we need to increase Turnitin budget for AI chat. Dr. LeBrun likes to keep about $800,000 in reserves to pay for July 1 bills. CidiLabs and the virtual tutoring budget may change from what she showed us as more information is made available. Keep in mind that the FY2025 report is just a draft, and she will continue to work on it. FY2024 was approved.