By Rae Chaney —
Be prepared to see the price of tuition increase for the 2015-2016 school year. University President James Ramsey confirmed on Thursday that U of L plans increase tuition by three percent.
One day before Ramsey told reporters of a tuition increase, Susan Howarth, the associate vice president for finance, explained how the university comes up with the price tag for college education.
Howarth said the Council on Postsecondary Education, or CPE, sets U of L’s tuition. This means the Bursars Office at U of L is not the primary authority on how much tuition costs. In June a CPE task force filters everything in the university system that needs funding. Everything from projects to student activity groups to a new academic program goes through this process.
Howarth said undergraduate resident tuition saw a five percent increase in 2014, and in 2015 the increase cannot exceed three percent. The CPE placed a cap of eight percent on tuition increases for the 2014 and 2015 academic calendar.
She also explained that graduate student tuition is more market-driven than government-driven.
Currently, tuition for full-time in-state undergraduate residents rings up to $10, 236 per academic year, according to U of L’s office of admissions website.
Many students seemed frustrated with the thought of tuition increase, including Victoria Allen, SGA president-elect.
“Kentucky doesn’t always put education first, and knowledge should not come with a price,” said Allen, who feels “optimistic about the budget.”
Students and faculty were both in attendance at the Wednesday afternoon information session in the Floyd Theater.
