Sierra Hubbard, News Editor
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia voted on and approved a tuition and fee increase for the 2015-2016 school year for Kennesaw State University at their April board meeting.
Tuition to attend KSU in the fall will increase by 4.4 percent as compared to the previous school year’s price. This amount is divided into two sections. The first 2.5 percent accounts for the base increase applied to a total of 20 institutions in the University System of Georgia.
“And that additional 1.9 percentage point is the result of creating a blended tuition rate on the consolidation of Kennesaw and Southern Poly, which had a slightly higher tuition rate,” said Charlie Sutlive, Vice Chancellor for Communications for the USG.
Sutlive attributed the additional increase to finding a middle ground between Southern Polytechnic University’s previous tuition, which was slightly higher, and KSU’s current cost. Funds also needed to be allocated to cover the expanded degree programs now offered on both campuses.
“We look carefully at the tuition rates for our institutions,” Sutlive said, “to make sure we are balancing the increasing cost of providing public higher education while also keeping tuition and fees as affordable and low as possible.”
The Board of Regents also voted that students attending KSU during the 2015-2016 academic year will experience an increase in fees and pay a total of $1,003 per semester. This is a slight increase from KSU’s fall 2014 price of $917 and a leap from the former SPSU’s $711.
“Fees as a whole are looked at every year by the university system and what we look at is what is the rationale for the fees,” Sutlive said.
He explained the university’s involvement in the entire process of tuition and fee increases.
“Each institution puts forth a recommendation and a request to the Board of Regents for their fees for their specific campus,” he said.
“As part of that, they cite what the fee is for, why it’s needed, and then that is reviewed by the Board of Regents for the University System and then the Board of Regents votes on that to approve.”
Sutlive also emphasized the importance of keeping up with the trends of nearby areas, especially as part of the Southern Regional Education Board, which makes up 16 states.
“Out of the 16 states, University System of Georgia is the seventh lowest in tuition and fees for four-year institutions,” he said.
President Papp cited via email the many areas of the university to which the funds will be allocated. The main focus will be additional faculty and staff, but it will also cover ongoing expenses like IT contracts, utilities, and library services as well as limited salary increases, which, he noted, would be only the second occurrence in the past six years.
“We feel the tuition and fee increases were appropriate,” Papp said, “and will enable KSU to continue to maintain high quality programs and in some areas improve programs and add services.”
