Kent 1.5% Tuition Hike Goes to Scholarships
KENT, Ohio -- The Kent State University Board of Trustees yesterday enacted a 1.5% tuition increase, all of which will be used to help students come to, stay in and graduate from all of its eight campuses, the university said. The increase in undergraduate and graduate tuition is effective this fall and expected to generate about $4.75 million.
The increase is part of a $638 million balanced operating budget for fiscal 2014 that the board approved. All of the tuition increase will fund scholarships, grants and other financial aid for students systemwide.
Effective this fall semester, undergraduate tuition for students at the main campus will increase $72 per semester (to $4,908 from $4,836). Graduate tuition will increase $77 per semester (to $5,222 from $5,145).
“Keeping the affordability concerns of our students and their families foremost in mind, we allocated funds in a way that keeps university operations fiscally efficient and also allows the continuation of improvements that are attracting thousands of high-achieving students to Kent State," commented Jane Murphy Timken, board chairwoman, in a prepared statement. "Our success in areas such as enrollment, retention and fundraising led the Board to conclude the 1.5% tuition to be appropriate.”
About $1.7 million of the increase will be dedicated to trustee scholarships for new freshmen enrolled at the main campus. About $1.75 million will be earmarked for scholarships and grants awarded in previous years, or sophomores, juniors and seniors, and about $1.1 million will support financial aid for students at the university’s seven regional campuses.
The tuition increase is the lowest Kent State has enacted in the last four years and below the state-mandated 2% limit on undergraduate tuition for the 2013-14 academic year. Trustees expect the tuition increase to keep full-time tuition and fees seventh lowest among Ohio’s 13 public universities.
The educational and operating budget the board approved for Kent State’s eight-campus system spans fiscal 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014) and reflects a projected increase in the university’s state allocation resulting from a new formula that rewards positive enrollment and student graduation trends.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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