Tuition for most Kansas University students would increase by nearly 16 percent next year, under a proposal presented Thursday to the Kansas Board of Regents.

Undergraduate Kansas residents would pay $4,824 a year for 15 credit hours a semester, up $661.50 from the current year. The increase would pay for a variety of campus improvements, including salary raises, new faculty hirings and technology enhancements.

But some regents said they were growing increasingly concerned about the effects of rising tuition on university campuses.

“I’ve been very concerned about the increase in tuition,” said Donna Shank of Liberal. “I do worry about that middle class of students, the majority of which are using student loans to pay for their college.”

KU’s latest proposed increases are similar in dollar amount to those of the past three years. The university is in the middle of a five-year plan that would more than double tuition costs.

KU’s 15.9 percent increase for undergraduate resident students was the largest increase proposed Thursday. Officials from the other five state universities proposed increases ranging from 6.5 percent to 10.9 percent for next year.

In addition to the base tuition, all KU students would pay $294.50 per semester in required fees. Many schools also charge additional tuition in addition to the base rate. Those would range from $12.50 per credit hour for the journalism school to $112.30 at the law school.

David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, said the tuition plan had added value to a KU education.

Meanwhile, he said, the increase hasn’t hurt the student body, with overall enrollment the highest it’s been in university history and minority enrollment and freshman ACT scores on the rise.

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“The conclusion we have is the plan is working,” he said.

And Shulenburger said tuition at KU remained below most public institutions in the Association of American Universities, a frequent comparison group for KU.

“What I see is still a low tuition rate,” he said.

Student leaders have endorsed the five-year plan.

“I don’t know if ‘in favor of’ is the right (phrase),” said Marynell Jones, student body vice president. “I think students are supportive of what the university is doing and understand why tuition is going up. But nobody likes to see tuition go up.”

Shulenburger also told regents KU was committed to pursuing a “guaranteed tuition” structure for incoming freshmen beginning in fall 2007. Under the plan, freshmen would be guaranteed a constant tuition rate over four years.

Tom Rawson, vice president for administration and finance at Kansas State University, said officials there also were considering a guaranteed tuition structure.

“We’re going to have a special group looking into that in the fall,” he said.

Regent Frank Gaines of Hamilton said he hoped each of the six state universities would pursue the tuition contracts to help families to plan for college.

“I think that would do lots, lots, lots if all universities can get that built in,” he said.