Faced with budget shortfalls at the state level and at Northern Kentucky University, President James Votruba said students should expect to see a hike in their tuition, effective for the 2004-2005 school year.
Votruba told the Student Government Association at its Nov. 10 meeting that he expects the Board of Regents in January to pass an increase of $300-$400 per year for each student. SGA is expected to vote on its recommendation at its Nov. 17 meeting.
The president said he realized NKU is already an expensive undergraduate experience, compared to other state universities, but he added that the university is “under-funded, given our growth, by $4.4 million per year.”
Votruba said NKU receives only $3,791 per student, the lowest amount of state appropriation money per full-time enrollment student of any Kentucky university.
“For every dollar we send to Frankfort, we get 50 cents back,” Votruba said. “That means 50 cents is going somewhere else.”
He said budget cuts are likely even with a tuition increase, but the administration is “not prepared to make across-the-board budget reductions,” he said.
Eric Fegan, SGA executive vice president and chair of the tuition committee, said the increase was not unexpected to him. In fact, he said, he had expected the administration to announce a more immediate hike.
“I was pretty excited to find out that we weren’t going to have (a mid-term tuition increase),” Fegan said.
The SGA tuition committee will discuss the anticipated increase Wednesday, Nov. 12, at noon in UC 208. All students are invited to attend, and Fegan said the meeting could be moved to accommodate larger crowds.
Fegan said Votruba consults with SGA on budget issues, and student representatives can make recommendations.
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