Fresh from the jubilation of finishing my first year of graduate school, tingling with the anticipation of not having to think about school until August, I realize I’m about to get a lot poorer.
See, the Kansas Board of Regents is in the process of approving another tuition increase for universities in the state. My tuition at the University of Kansas is jumping six percent; so are the fees I have to pay to take my courses (I thought that was tuition, but I am apparently mistaken). But I’m one of the lucky ones.
The Associated Press reported that the state’s six universities could up tuition by as much as 8.7 percent, which would raise at least $22 million during the next academic year. The Regents say this money will provide funds for pay raises, while sustaining existing programs. Some faculty pay raises are not included in the schools’ budgets, and must be amended by such increases in tuition.
The Regents complain that Kansas faces rising costs in energy, technology and building maintenance. Kansas’ funding for its research universities is 23 percent lower than the national average. In order to keep academic talent in Kansas, wages must increase.
But what worries students is how the rising cost of education affects not only their pocketbooks, but also their quality of life.
Madison Shriner, of Hutchinson, will attend KU next fall, and predicted she would"give up some extra curricular activities in order to work more and that would be a bummer because less fun and more work."
Here's how the tuition hike breaks down, via theWichita Eagle.
What gets me is the great disparity in costs to out-of-state students. In-state schools have always been bargains for students that live in the states where they attend college. That’s why the vast majority of my friends at Miami University, in Ohio, were from Cincinnati, Cleveland or Columbus.
But students at Kansas State can see just how expensive being from out of state can be. The Manhattan Mercury notes “The proposal includes a 7.2 percent increase for resident students and 7.4 percent increase for nonresident students.
Those percentages translate to resident juniors and seniors paying an extra $13.50 per credit hour and nonresident juniors and seniors paying an extra $38 per credit hour.”
KU says that tuition pays for only about half of in-state students’ education. The balance for these students’ education is made up by state funds, research dollars, student fees and folks like me. Out-of-state students, like myself, pay nearly 130 percent. At first glance, this makes no sense.
A student from Kansas essentially has half of his or her education paid for by extraneous money sources. While out-of-staters pay more than 25 percent more than what they get?
I’m from Missouri, via Illinois. And even though I live in Kansas, work in Kansas, pay taxes here and have a Kansas driver’s license, I am a mere out-of-state student, paying out the wazoo.
Here’s how KU’s tuition hike looks, thanks to theLawrence Journal-World.
It’s less glaring if you look at a balance sheet, which simply says in-state tuition is roughly half of out-of-state tuition.
Still, it makes students bristle at the thought of an education that, for some, is on its way to being unattainable.
Here’s the good news, at least if you’re an incoming freshman to KU (which I’m not).
The university has proposed locking in tuition for incoming students, so they will not have to pay more than the tuition they pay on Day 1. For four years, there would be no increase in costs. But, in order to plan for future budget matters, the university would increase tuition by almost 9 percent, while the state average increase is about 6 percent.
How does this affect you? With one of the lowest minimum wages in the country, young Kansans have a lot to think about when they think about budgets. I’d like to hear your stories on the climbing costs of college.
As for me, I’ve always like Ramen noodles.