Regents approve slight K-State tuition increase, change in fee structure

Jun. 17—Undergraduate students at K-State will see a slight tuition increase, depending on their chosen field of study, starting next year.

The Kansas Board of Regents approved the proposed changes to tuition and fees from university officials Wednesday. Five of the six state schools the Regents oversees requested to keep tuition flat for the 2021-22 school year. K-State was the exception.

K-State President Richard Myers sought a new structure that aims to make the tuition and fee structure more transparent. The increase amounts to $3.80 per credit hour over the approved tuition rate for the 2021 academic year — from $312.50 per credit hour to $316.30 for in-state students. For students taking a 15-hour course load, that is $57 more per semester for a total of $4,744 in tuition. Required fees would be $465.50 per semester, not counting program-specific fees.

Out-of-state students could see an additional $87 in tuition and fees for a semester on the Manhattan campus under the proposal.

The Mercury reported last month that university administrators said the biggest change to the fee structure is the removal of in-state tuition for online courses. Those classes will now be set at the out-of-state residency tuition rate. Fees for summer and intersession work, as well as the Olathe campus fee, are eliminated. Administrators also merged the campus-wide academic infrastructure fee into the base tuition rate, which accounts for the 1.2% bump.

Myers said some students will see savings if they choose at least one online course. He said more and more students are selecting a mix of online and in-person classes. In May, vice-president for enrollment management Karen Goos said an in-state student who takes two or more online classes will see a "significant decline," possibly up to 7%, in the overall cost of attending KSU each semester.

K-State hasn't increased tuition in two years. The Board of Regents denied requests to raise tuition and fees in 2019, and last year KSU tuition did not fluctuate because of the pandemic.

Last month, Goos told The Mercury this new tuition and fee structure just "redistributes" how fees are charged, and she said some students taking all in-person classes "may see a small bump" in the cost of attendance.

"Our overarching goal in creating this new tuition and fee structure was to make it easier for students to understand their cost of attendance at the university," Goos said in a statement Thursday.

K-State administrators will work to implement the changes to tuition and fees over the next few weeks, and communicate those changes to students, faculty and staff.