FHSU remains most affordable university; softens increase with incentive program

06/24/10 ks local, area, key

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Kansas Board of Regents approved 2010-2011 tuition proposals today, and Fort Hays State University continues to offer the lowest tuition among the six state universities.

The increase at FHSU will be only $2.95 per credit hour for in-state, undergraduate students.

Calculated for a 15-credit-hour semester, undergraduate tuition at FHSU in the coming academic year will be $1,517.25, which is an increase of 3.0 percent from $1,473 in the 2009-2010 school year. Considering that FHSU already had the lowest tuition and instituted the lowest increase, the gap widened between the cost at FHSU and at the other five schools.

Undergraduate tuition, by comparison, at the other five Regents universities:

• The University of Kansas -- tuition rises to $3,583.50 per semester, an increase of 9.1 percent from the previous year's tuition of $3,283.50.
• Kansas State University -- tuition rises to $3,186 per semester, an increase of 3.0 percent from $3,093.
• Wichita State University -- tuition rises to $2,361 per semester, an increase of 5.0 percent from $2,248.50.
• Pittsburg State University -- tuition rises to $1,934 per semester, an increase of 5.9 percent from $1,826.
• Emporia State University -- tuition rises to $1,807 per semester, an increase of 5.5 percent from $1,713.

Required fees vary at the universities. At FHSU, tuition and fees for undergraduates will total $1,958.25 per semester in the coming year, which is an increase of 4.1 percent from tuition and fees of $1,881 last year. Most of the increase was a new $2-per-credit-hour fee for athletics that was approved by the student body.

"Institutions of higher education, not just in Kansas but across the nation, have struggled in this economy," said Dr. Edward H. Hammond, FHSU president. "With states unable to maintain their levels of funding for higher education over the past two years, tuition increases have been unavoidable. However, at FHSU we have found ways to hold down our increases because we know higher tuition translates into less accessibility for Kansans who need education now more than ever."

The president also pointed out that FHSU would extend for a second year the incentive program that it instituted last year using some of its share of federal stimulus money. Called the Tuition Incentive Program, or TIP, the program rewards students for good academic performance and thereby reduces the impact of the tuition increase.

"In the first year of TIP, we returned $5 to undergraduate Kansas students for every credit hour completed in an on-campus course with a grade of C or better," the president said. "In the coming year, we are increasing TIP to $10 for every credit hour completed by a Kansas student in an on-campus course with a grade of C or better."

Based on the results of the initial year of TIP, FHSU actually expects to return more money to students in the coming year than it raises from the tuition increase.

"We have projected that our 3-percent tuition increase will generate $700,000 in new revenue next year," President Hammond said. "At the higher payout level of $10, we expect to return $740,000 to Kansas students through TIP."

The TIP money is deposited electronically into a student's account and applied toward tuition for the following semester.

When the economy began to turn sour in fall 2008, FHSU adopted a set of planning principles to guide it through the financial crisis. The first four planning principles -- serve students; protect faculty and staff; ask people to do more; and keep costs down for students -- were directed internally. In addition, a fifth planning principle -- minimize the impact of cuts on the local community -- was directed outward.

"The planning principles have served us well during the economic downturn," the president said. "The modest tuition increase, coupled with the enhanced TIP, demonstrates our continuing commitment to keep costs down for students."