Coming soon: Guaranteed tuition

While cell phones, hair color, apartments, friends and majors might change many times over the life of a college student, University administrators are working hard to keep one aspect of the college experience the same, tuition. Pending approval this month by the Kansas Board of Regents, KU will adopt an idea championed by its students: a four-year guaranteed tuition rate plan.

Under the concept, incoming students starting in the fall of 2007 would pay the same base tuition rate for their first four years of college rather than face annual increases. The rate will reflect the average of the credit hour tuition increases anticipated over the subsequent four years.

The proposal has two objectives:

• Students upon entering KU will know what their tuition cost per credit hour will be for the time it should take them to complete their entire undergraduate degree program.
• Students would be provided a tangible incentive to complete four-year degree programs in the prescribed time frame, a high University priority.

First-time freshmen would enter at a fixed per credit hour tuition rate. Exceptions will apply for students whose enrollment is interrupted for such circumstances as being called to active military service or a medical emergency that requires temporary withdrawal.

The four-year rate would be based on the University's estimate of tuition rates on average for four years. For example, if the University's resident undergraduate tuition of $4,762 is estimated to increase 5 percent a year, the student would pay $5,387 a year for four years even though regular tuition would have increased to $5,788 in the final year over the same period.

The guaranteed plan would not include differential tuition rates charged by some professional schools, which range from $12.50 to $120 per credit hour; campus fees, which support various student services; and residence hall rates.