Last Wednesday, the Kansas Board of Regents voted to accept K-State’s proposal for a 5 percent increase to undergraduate and graduate tuition. The proposal was originally formed by the Tuition Strategies Committee, which is comprised of student representatives and was led by former Student Body President Eli Schooley and Speaker of the Student Senate Kyle Nuss throughout last year. The committee’s reccomendation was turned over to President Schulz, who presented it to the Board of Regents without making any major changes.
No one likes to see tuition go up. Since Day One, we have been committed to doing everything within our power to keep education affordable for K-State students. However, with K-State’s recent growth, operating costs have risen. However, university administration did take student input into account throughout the process.
Here’s a breakdown of the general tuition increase and several fee increases passed by specific colleges:
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Undergraduate resident tuition at the Manhattan campus will increase from $261/credit hour to $274.10/credit hour.
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Undergraduate nonresident tuition in Manhattan will increase from $692/credit hour to $727.10/credit hour.
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The College Instructional Fee will be $12.40/credit hour. This money goes directly to the specific college to use as needed.
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The College of Agriculture fee will be $20/credit hour. Eighty percent of the revenue will go to the specific department that generated it, while 20 percent will go to the college. The money will be used for whatever students want it to be used for.
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The College of Architecture, Planning, and Design raised their fee from $35/credit hour to $40/credit hour.
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Student privilege fee will climb from $377 to $405.70. This is due to a $20 increase passed by students to fund the Union renovation, and an $8.70 increase to help fund the Recreation Complex and Lafene Health Center.
The increase in tuition, combined with state funding, internal reallocation, and enrollment growth projections, brings an estimated total of $16,936,465 of revenue for the university. This money will be allocated as follows:
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Merit Salary Increase (2%): $8,100,000
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University Support Staff Salary Increases (2%): $700,000
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Targeted Faculty Salary Enhancements $750,000
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Faculty Promotions/Professorial Performance Awards: $1,130,000
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Backfill 5-Year Promotion $400,000
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Fringe Benefit Increase: $50,000
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Institutional Scholarships: $1,328,000
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Utilities Infrastructure: $1,000,000
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Instructional Fees/GTA Waiver Increase: $445,000
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New Faculty Positions: $559,604
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Base funding support for academic unclassified professionals: $263,861
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Cover State Reduction FY15 and Human Capital:$1,000,000
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Student Center Tuition Enhancement Reallocation: $141,600
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Security Studies Replacement of Grant Funds: $400,000
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Pre-Award Research Services Support: $50,000
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Student Services Support: $132,900
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Alumni Database $85,000
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Academic Building Support: $360,000
This year, students are being held responsible for $8.1 million, more than twice as much as the $3.7 million in state funding. It’s important to have a sufficient faculty, and to pay them competitive salaries, but to put the tab on the back of students is wrong.
If you have any questions or comments about tuition and fee increases, or anything else related to life as a K-State student, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Go Cats,
Reagan Kays and Cody Kennedy
Student Body President and Vice President