Topeka ? Higher education officials today will decide on a Kansas University proposal to increase the tuition rate for new freshmen by nearly 16 percent, but freeze that rate for those students for four years.

The “Four-Year Tuition Compact” would allow students and their parents to better plan their education costs and encourage students to complete their degrees in four years, KU officials said.

“Completing four-year academic programs in four years is a high priority,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “By offering no tuition increases for four years, we are giving students a powerful incentive to finish their degrees on time.”

Meanwhile, for other students, KU has proposed a 7.3 percent increase in tuition and fees for resident undergraduates and 6.5 percent for nonresident undergraduates. That would bring the cost of a 15-hour course load for a resident undergraduate to $3,299.75 and for a nonresident to $8,053.25.

Under the tuition compact proposal, first-time freshmen this fall at KU would pay a fixed tuition rate for four years. Housing costs would be frozen in two-year increments, and course and campus fees would be projected in four-year schedules.

The proposal would charge resident freshmen $213 per credit hour, which is 15.9 percent more than the current rate of $183.75. For full-time, resident freshmen, tuition would be $3,408 per semester, which is $468 more than this year. Add proposed fees of $377.75 and a freshman starting this fall will pay $3,785.75. KU calculates its compact costs based on a 16-hour per semester class load.

But the tuition would stay at that rate for four years.

In addition, KU is proposing a two-year housing rate and contract.

The regents also will consider a five-year schedule of repair and maintenance projects at KU and other public universities. The schedule was required by a new law that allocates funds to take care of a backlog of projects.