FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2016
Board of Regents Approve State University Tuition Rates
(Topeka, Kansas) - Today, the Kansas Board of Regents approved tuition rates for each of the six state universities in Kansas for the 2016-2017 academic year. Increases range from 4.9-6.0% for a full-time undergraduate resident student and 3.6-6.0% for a full-time undergraduate non-resident student. Tuition rates will also increase for both resident and non-resident graduate students, ranging from 3.0-6.0%.
Regent Zoe Newton, who will next serve as Chair of the Board of Regents, reflected on the process stating:
“Voting to raise tuition is never agreed to lightly. We balance our commitment to keeping tuition affordable against the need to maintain and improve the excellence of our state universities. Students expect and deserve a quality education, and our state needs high quality doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers ... all of our graduates, in whatever discipline they have pursued. Maintaining these high standards requires investment to ensure the vitality and excellence of the Kansas public postsecondary educational system.”
A revised tuition rate proposal as submitted by each university is available at: http://kansasregents.org/about/regent_meetings_agendas_and_minutes.
FY2017 funding for the Kansas public postsecondary system has, to-date, been reduced by $38.1 million, or 4.8% from the amount initially appropriated for higher education in 2016-2017. Of that amount, $23.6 million has been cut collectively from Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Pittsburg State University, Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University.
One of the primary responsibilities of the Board of Regents, as defined in state law, is to set tuition and fees at state universities. Based on the tuition rates approved today, it is projected that approximately $724 million will be raised from tuition revenues in this upcoming year, an increase of $4.3 million over initial proposals submitted to the Board last month and an increase of $36.2 million in projected revenue over the previous year. In addition to making up for the loss in state funding, each university outlined how any additional revenue would be spent, including enhancements in scholarship support, campus security, inflationary increases to operating expenses, growth in online education, financing costs for IT software and hardware, and additional student advisors.
A summary of approved FY17 tuition and required fee rates is available here (pdf).
For more information, contact Breeze Richardson at (785) 291-3969 or
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About the Kansas Board of Regents:
The nine-member Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state’s six universities and the statewide coordinating board for the state’s 32 public higher education institutions (six state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges). In addition, the Board administers the state’s student financial aid, adult education, high school equivalency, and career and technical education programs. Private proprietary schools and out-of-state institutions are authorized by the Kansas Board of Regents to operate in Kansas.
Board of Regents Approve State University Tuition Rates (PDF download)