Tuition will probably go up next year at the state’s public universities.
According to an announcement today at the Kansas Board of Regents meeting, tuition is proposed to increase 4 percent at the University of Kansas, Lawrence; 5 percent at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kan.; 5 percent at Kansas State University, Manhattan; 5 percent at Wichita State University; 3.9 percent at Emporia State University; 5 percent at Pittsburg State University; and 5 percent at Ft. Hays State University.
The Board of Regents is expected to vote on these tuition proposals next month.
According to a news release from the Board of Regents, the board has received notice from Gov. Sam Brownback that the entire public higher education system in Kansas would be cut 4 percent, a cut of about $30.6 million.
State general funds for fiscal year 2017 will be 8.6 percent less than what was allocated in fiscal year 2008, according to the news release, a decrease of nearly $100 million over about 10 years.
According to the news release from the Board of Regents, the 26 two-year public colleges in Kansas received a combined cut of $5,482,184 today.
In a news release today, a KU spokesman said that first-time freshmen opting into the university’s four-year tuition compact, guaranteeing students a fixed tuition rate for four years, would pay 5 percent more than last year’s tuition.
At KU Medical Center, all students, including medical students, would see a tuition hike of 5 percent, according to the news release. About half of returning KU undergraduates would see no tuition increase under the proposal.
“When we set tuition, we are trying to balance affordability and quality,” said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little in a news release. “We want KU to remain affordable and accessible while also ensuring we have the resources to provide students the education and experiences they expect from a flagship research university. I believe we continue to successfully balance these goals based on the fact that we’ve now had four straight years of freshman class growth and continue to have the highest enrollment of any Regents institution.”