Topeka — Incoming freshmen at Kansas University would pay 3.4 percent more in tuition and fees than the last freshman class, under a proposal unveiled Wednesday.
That would mean a resident freshman arriving in the fall will pay $5,224 per semester, which is $170 more than the last freshman class. An out-of-state freshman would pay $12,437, which is $429 more than the last out-of-state freshman class.
At KU, freshmen enter a compact, meaning that they will have the same tuition rate for four years.
Because of this compact system, two-thirds of returning KU undergraduates will have no tuition increase.
“Our goal is to balance the strong desire to maintain access with the equally strong need to ensure that the education students receive at KU prepares them for successful lives and careers,” said KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.
Under the proposal, KU’s tuition and fees would rank as ninth lowest of the 34 public universities in the Association of American Universities.
The proposal also would increase resident graduate student tuition and fees by 4.3 percent; and 4.9 percent for KU Medical Center students.
The proposed increases will help pay for merit pay increases of an average of 1.75 percent to key faculty and staff, Gray-Little said.
Gray-Little noted that higher education funding in Kansas remains below pre-recession levels. In the current fiscal year, KU will receive $249 million in state funding as compared with $273 million in 2008.
Last year the Legislature cut funding to KU by nearly $14 million. This year, the Legislature restored less than one-third of that cut.
The tuition and fee proposals were unveiled before the Kansas Board of Regents, which is expected to approve rates in June.
Among the other regents schools, the tuition and fee increases for in-state undergraduates would increase 5.2 percent at Kansas State University; 7.5 percent at Wichita State; 5.6 percent at Emporia State; 5.5 percent at Pittsburg State; and 2.5 percent at Fort Hays State.
Comments
Steve Jacob 4 years ago
Honestly, not picking on KU, but how can society handle college going up 3-5% a year, every year.
Bernard McCoy 4 years ago
Tuition increases wouldn't be going up except that state funding support for the University of Kansas has fallen 60 percent over the past 25 years.
Gregory Sharp 4 years ago
I have one at KU and another one going to K-State Can't wait for more tuition increases Really 3.4 % increase. That's more than twice the rate of inflation Tuition for in state for 15 hours is well over $4,000 a semester. Along with books fees and living expenses it's over. $20,000 a year.
Kim Murphree 4 years ago
Once upon a time the mission for state colleges was so that every child in Kansas would have the opportunity to receive a higher education degree. Have our universities become so engrossed in their own institutional competition that they have forgotten the spirit on which they were founded? There are those who will say that we do not understand the pressure to attract more students and the need for more and more money, but I would counter with the mission of educating Kansas students; all Kansas students, that's the goal. With tuition soaring, only those who are wealthy or those who believe they can bear the burden of school loans will be able to get a degree. There is no positive outcome in increasing disparities already so deep within our nation. Education has always been considered a necessity for success, and has especially been touted as the road out of poverty. Cutting Pell Grants, increasing student loan interest rates, and raising tuitions threaten the very foundation of our belief that education should be available to all who can make the grade.
Amy Varoli Elliott 4 years ago
There are also those who would say the State no longer cares about educating their people, which is why they have drastically cut funding
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