NKU Tuition Increases Approved

NKU is among the state's universities that will have a higher tuition, as early as the summer semester.

It’s official, tuition will be going up for Kentucky’s higher education.

Thanks to a 3-percent cut to state funding, the state's universities had requested higher tuition rates to cover costs through the next fiscal year.

The Council on Postsecondary Education approved increases ranging from 6 percent to nearly 10 percent at a meeting last week.

That means that Northern Kentucky University will climb 9.68 percent.

The tuition change could go into effect as early as this July, but more likely 2008-09 fall semester, said Sue Moore, NKU’s vice president of planning policy and budget.

"The cost is higher to run a school in an urban setting," she said about the cost to run NKU in Highland Heights.

The rise in tuition is equal to about another $24 per credit hour, or approximately $288 more every semester for commuting, in-state, undergraduate students. The cost every year is just under $6,000 now. But that price does not include housing, only classes.

All universities and colleges will experience the rise in tuition around the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System also will raise rates by 5.2 percent.

Community and technical college system head Michael McCall had requested a 13 percent hike.

McCall said the smaller tuition hike will likely lead to cuts in services and student enrollment.