BOARD OF REGENTS APPROVES STATE UNIVERSITY TUITION RATES & ALLOCATES FEDERAL STIMULUS DOLLARS
Tuition Increases Required Due To Additional State Budget Cuts
(TOPEKA) - On June 25, 2009 the Kansas Board of Regents established the standard resident tuition rates for the six state universities for the upcoming 2009-2010 academic year. The newly-established tuition rates range from a 3.9% increase at Kansas State University to an 8.5% increase at Wichita State University. The Board also approved the University of Kansas’ rate for the “Four-Year Tuition Compact,” the rate that applies for first-time, full-time students who begin as freshmen in the
Fall 2009 semester. This rate, which will be locked-in for those students over a four-year period, was increased by 7%.

“Each year I struggle with trying to properly balance the needs of the universities with the financial needs and concerns of students,” said Regent Jill Docking of Wichita, the Vice Chair of the Kansas Board of Regents. “A few months ago, in an effort to provide some relief to hard-working students and their families in this tough economy, the Board was in a position to freeze tuition for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, additional budget cuts, made necessary by the economic downturn and declining state revenues, made that impossible.”
  In May the Board received tuition proposals from each of the six universities that were developed through participation and input from a variety of local campus constituent groups. Subsequently, three universities - Emporia State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University - submitted revised proposals that took into account the continued decline of the Kansas economy.

“Throughout this difficult process, I was pleased to see that students were actively and meaningfully involved on their campuses with the tuition-setting process. That level of engagement and buy-in by student leaders was critically important,” noted Docking. “Even when faced with demands for increased quality during a period when enrollments are increasing and state funding is declining, we must maintain our commitment to keep the cost of a higher education within the reach of all Kansans. I’m pleased that a state university education in Kansas remains the best buy in the region.”

A recent survey conducted by the Board compared the in-state tuition and fee rates of Kansas’ six state universities to similar institutions in neighboring states for the recently concluded 2008-2009 academic year. The results of the survey demonstrate that tuition rates in Kansas are the lowest in the region. Kansans who attended Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, or Wichita State University, the state’s three research institutions, on average pay $765 or 12% less than residents in neighboring states to attend similar institutions each year. Kansans who attend Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, or Pittsburg State University, the state’s three regional institutions, on average pay $756 or 19% less than residents in neighboring states to attend similar institutions each year.

Today the Board also made the decision that a majority of the federal stimulus dollars the state universities will receive for Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010 will be allocated to important deferred building maintenance projects on those campuses. Two-thirds ($26.6 million) of the $39.9 million in stimulus funds will be allocated to deferred maintenance projects while one-third ($13.3 million) will be used for tuition cost mitigation.

Docking concluded by saying, “These federal dollars provide us with a unique opportunity to address critical campus maintenance needs which will in turn stimulate the local economy and improve the student learning environment. While it’s imperative that we allocate the vast majority of these dollars to one-time maintenance projects, we’re pleased that we also had the flexibility to assist Kansas students with tuition cost mitigation in this challenging economic environment. It’s clear to me that the Regents would not have approved the proposed tuition increases if stimulus dollars hadn’t been available for the purpose of assisting students. Without a doubt, tuition costs would have been higher had it not been for these important federal dollars. This invaluable federal assistance is directly helping Kansans by keeping higher education more affordable.”
 
  About Kansas Citizens For Higher Education
 
Thank you for visiting Citizens for Higher Education.

Public education is under attack nationwide as state budgets are strained to the breaking point.  Nowhere is this crisis more evident than in Kansas.

That’s why Citizens for Higher Education is fighting back.
 

Kansas ranks in the Top 10 of states sending its young people to college, but we are near the bottom of the Big 12 in terms of per student state funding.

State funding for higher education, adjusted for inflation, keeps falling while enrollment today is higher than it has ever been.

Average salaries for Kansas higher ed teachers and professors are average or below Big 12 standards, making our best and brightest educators ripe for the picking by rival states?

  Kansans have always placed a high priority on quality education.  That’s why these, and other facts are so troubling. CHE appreciates the fiscal challenges our state government faces, but we also believe it is time for Kansas to take a leadership role. 

Please take time to review our website, then get involved.  Register with CHE online.  There are a number of ways you can help us preserve and improve the quality of higher education in Kansas.  Thank you for your time and support.
 

Ross Beach             
Gene Bicknell
Jeff Crippen
John C Dicus
William Docking
Terrence P Dunn
James R Grier, III
Bill Hall
Kenneth Havner
Drue Jennings
Jim Lowther
Honorable Cordell Meeks
Fred Merrill
Joe C Morris
Bill E Musgrave
Robert D Regnier
E S Riss
Honorable Richard Rogers
Julie Davis Richey
John T Stewart
Bill Taylor
Robert Taylor
Kurt D Watson

|

|


Web Development By: New Age Graphics, LLC