By James El-Mallakh–
Tuition costs for students will go up again next academic year.
Students attending the University of Louisville will face a 6 percent-increase on the existing cost of classes for the academic year 2012-2013.
Graph by Nate Malchow/The Louisville Cardinal
The Council on Postsecondary Education is in charge of setting tuition rates. The maximum increase allowed for research universities in Kentucky, which includes U of L and UK, is 6 percent. For other non-research universities in Kentucky, tuition will go up 5 percent.
Starting in the fall, it will cost a resident, full-time undergraduate student double what it cost in 2003-2004. For non-resident full-time undergraduate students, the cost of college for one academic year will increase from $21,650 to $22,949 in 2012-2013.
“Even with the estimated $45.1 million that will be generated with the new tuition and fee revenue, campuses will be faced with a net operating deficit of $79.6 million for FY13,” a CPE press release stated.
On top of tuition increases, the state has also reduced the money it gives to higher education institutions. This year, Governor Steve Beshear proposed a spending budget for Kentucky that would reduce state funding for universities by 6.4 percent. The budget passed on Friday, April 20.
“The biggest impact [of the reductions] is what we are not able to do,” said President James Ramsey in an interview with the Courier-Journal. “We should be hiring more faculty, we should be hiring more researchers, and all of that is off the table.”
