After two years of no tuition increases, Wichita State University has proposed to raise tuition by 5.9%, equating to a $13.46 increase per credit hour for in-state residents. The increase would be closer to $32 for out-of-state residents. 

According to President Rick Muma, “the students in various different ways and groups have all said that they support this (increase) at this point — our faculty and staff Senates as well.”

“It really is to make sure that we continue to move forward on our priorities of supporting access to higher education, feeding the talent pipeline, and increasing economic prosperity,” Muma said.

If approved, Wichita State’s tuition would still be under other four-year, public universities in the state, like the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. 

In addition to tuition increases, Wichita State has also proposed various fee increases. 

Fee increases proposed:

Mandatory fees (every student must pay)

Campus infrastructure and support fee: 2.9% increase

Student support services fee: 2.9% increase

Tech and transportation fee: No increase

College fees (only students within the college)

College of Health Professions: $1000 per clinical rotation for the physician association program

Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences: 5.9% increase 

College of Engineering: 5.6% increase

Barton School of Business: 7.4% increase 

Other colleges: No fee increase

According to Muma, the various college fee increases are to either offset other costs within the school, offer better pay for graduate teaching assistants, hire new faculty, and/or increase recruiting efforts.

A decision on the proposals will not be made until next month by the Kansas Board of Regents. 

A list of current tuition and fee costs depending on credit-hour and residency status can be found here. 

To watch Wichita State’s tuition and fee increase proposals, go to the KBOR meeting on YouTube at timestamp 53:15.