2008 Woodie Awards
New fees, tuition approved
Doug Graham
Issue date: 6/26/08 Section: Front Page
Full-time, in-state undergraduates at Pittsburg State University will pay 6.5 percent more for tuition and fees for the 2008-2009 year than they did in 2007- 2008, following a decision by the Kansas Board of Regents on Thursday, June 12.
The increase brings the total for tuition and required fees to $2,161 this fall, compared to $2,030 in the fall of 2007, meaning students will pay $131 more per semester.
PSU's tuition by itself went from $1,617 to $1,710, a difference of $93, or 5.8 percent, while fees went from $413 to $451, a jump of $38, or 9.2 percent. The higher fees will give students access to the new student recreation center that is set to open in the fall and the new student health center that is scheduled for ground-breaking in the fall.
PSU President Tom Bryant says he always wishes the tuition increases were lower, but they have become a fact of life for schools.
"You know, with the economy the way it is and the gas prices, and all those kinds of things, we had to try to keep that tuition increase down as much as we can. And to me, (5.8 percent) still seems like it's quite a lot," Bryant said. "Certainly not as much as it has been in the past few years, but on the other hand, we didn't receive as much from the state as we would have liked to."
Bryant said about 60 percent of PSU's funding comes from the state; the other 40 percent comes from students.
"At one time, the goal of a reasonable university was 75 percent state and 25 percent tuition," Bryant said. "And you can see how much we've eroded from that."
Ryan Malle, a junior at PSU, says he is "totally down" with the fee increase for the student rec center.
"The Weede got so crowded it was pretty much worthless," Malle said. "You had to go to the Y for everything. I'm glad there's going to be a place just for students to go."
Still, he has misgivings about the rise in tuition.
"That's pretty big, considering the paycheck I get here from my job at the university is only about 200 bucks," Malle said. "That's a big chunk of it."
The increase brings the total for tuition and required fees to $2,161 this fall, compared to $2,030 in the fall of 2007, meaning students will pay $131 more per semester.
PSU's tuition by itself went from $1,617 to $1,710, a difference of $93, or 5.8 percent, while fees went from $413 to $451, a jump of $38, or 9.2 percent. The higher fees will give students access to the new student recreation center that is set to open in the fall and the new student health center that is scheduled for ground-breaking in the fall.
PSU President Tom Bryant says he always wishes the tuition increases were lower, but they have become a fact of life for schools.
"You know, with the economy the way it is and the gas prices, and all those kinds of things, we had to try to keep that tuition increase down as much as we can. And to me, (5.8 percent) still seems like it's quite a lot," Bryant said. "Certainly not as much as it has been in the past few years, but on the other hand, we didn't receive as much from the state as we would have liked to."
Bryant said about 60 percent of PSU's funding comes from the state; the other 40 percent comes from students.
"At one time, the goal of a reasonable university was 75 percent state and 25 percent tuition," Bryant said. "And you can see how much we've eroded from that."
Ryan Malle, a junior at PSU, says he is "totally down" with the fee increase for the student rec center.
"The Weede got so crowded it was pretty much worthless," Malle said. "You had to go to the Y for everything. I'm glad there's going to be a place just for students to go."
Still, he has misgivings about the rise in tuition.
"That's pretty big, considering the paycheck I get here from my job at the university is only about 200 bucks," Malle said. "That's a big chunk of it."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Steven
posted 9/07/08 @ 8:42 AM CST
I wasn't aware that a National Guard Armory (a.k.a. student recreation center) was for students only, even if that is for small percent of the actual usage. (Continued…)
Post a Comment