Wichita ? Faced with dramatic tuition increases at Wichita State University, the school’s foundation is changing its focus.

The WSU Foundation, which has worked to raise money for building projects in recent years, now will direct its efforts toward funding scholarships and endowing faculty chairs.

“Our overall priorities have been bricks and mortar,” said Elizabeth King, vice president for university advancement. “Now it’s time to step back and look at the people. The need for such funds is brought to the forefront because of the tuition increases.”

Tuition rose about 19 percent last year at Wichita State, and the school is waiting for the Kansas Board of Regents to approve an additional 10 percent increase.

But unlike Kansas University and Kansas State University, which also have seen double-digit increases the past two years and likely will again next year, Wichita State does not use tuition increases to fund financial aid. KU and KSU each use 20 percent of tuition increases for need-based financial aid, which officials have said has kept stable the demographics of each student body.

The WSU Foundation’s last scholarship campaign ran from 1992 to 1995, King said. Since then, it has raised money for the $25 million Charles Koch Arena, the $5.8 million Marcus Welcome Center — now under construction — and a $500,000 renovation project at the Garvey International Center.

Investment losses in 2003 also diminished the foundation’s holdings, further cutting into money for scholarships.

The amount of endowed scholarships fell by about $650,000 during the past academic year, meaning that some funds awarded fewer grants and some students had their scholarships reduced.

About $14,000 will be restored for the next academic year.

Roger Lowe, vice president for administration and finance, said the new dollars from the foundation were needed.

“The university is making strides in trying to improve the amount of dollars available from foundation revenue,” Lowe said.

Sheelu Surender, the university’s associate director of scholarships, said about 1,000 students applied for foundation aid each year.

“We’re always saying we don’t have enough funding for all the students who apply,” Surender said. “When we don’t have the funding to assist the majority of those students, that can be problematic.”