Tuition increase for MSU approved
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The state needs to invest at least $11.7 billion to upgrade existing buildings and construct new ones on university campuses to meet goals set by lawmakers, a group of consultants reported on Wednesday.
The consultants, under contract with the Council on Postsecondary Education, toured more than 700 buildings. They found that most are over 30 years old and in poor condition compared to buildings in other states.
Additional space will be needed if the universities meet their goals of enrolling 75,000 additional students by 2020, said Peter Scanlon, a consultant with a Boston firm that helped conduct the review.
Lawmakers set a series of goals for higher education institutions 10 years ago. They called for them to be instituted by 2020.
The buildings will need to be able to accommodate a sharp increase in student populations and the corresponding increase in faculty and staff if the state is able to meet its objective to produce more college graduates, said Sherron Jackson, assistant vice president for finance at the Council on Postsecondary Education.
The review identified 141 buildings that currently need remodeling at an estimated cost of $860 million.
Jackson said he wasn't surprised by the findings.
“I've been around post-secondary education for a number of years,” he said. “I'm more familiar with the age of the facilities and the attention given them in terms of renovations.”
The council also approved tuition increases ranging from a low of 7.5 percent at Kentucky State University to a high of 9.9 percent at the University of Louisville. The increases would take effect this fall.
Other tuition increases approved Wednesday were 8.4 percent at Murray State University, 9.3 percent at Northern Kentucky University, and 7.8 percent at Western Kentucky University.
Money generated from the tuition increases will be used to cover rising costs, including wage increases for faculty and staff.
The tuition increases amount to an additional $618 over the next year at Louisville, $370 at Kentucky State, $420 at Murray State, $504 at Northern, and $464 at Western.
Earlier this year, the council approved tuition increases of 9 percent, or $595, at the University of Kentucky; 8.4 percent, or $410, at Morehead State University; 9.4 percent, or $490, at Eastern Kentucky University.
Story created Apr 05, 2007 - 11:20:53 EDT.
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