College students in Kansas will see their tuition bills increase next year. But members of the Kansas Board of Regents say universities worked to keep tuition increases mild. As KPR's Stephen Koranda reports, the Regents approved the tuition rate hikes at their meeting Wednesday in Topeka.
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The overall tuition and fee increases for undergraduate resident students in Kansas range from 2.5 percent at Fort Hays State University to more than 5 percent at Kansas State. Regents Chairman Fred Logan says this is the lowest increase in 13 years.
“It’s always a tough job balancing access and excellence and I think we’ve done a pretty nice job of that here,” says Logan.
Regent Tim Emert supported the increases, but says he isn’t pleased with the level of general funding support from the Legislature. He says general state funding for universities hasn’t kept up with costs.
“We continue to put the burden on parents and students and student debt,” says Emert.
Last year, lawmakers cut university funding. This year, they restored some of the cuts and approved funding increases targeted at some specific programs.