Fall 2005 Tuition Increase
On June 17, 2005, the Washburn University Board of Regents increased tuition by 9.33% for the 2005-06 academic year. This action raised the cost of undergraduate resident tuition to $164 per credit hour.
Although the $164 may be reasonable for upper level courses, this cost is quite a burden for those that are attempting college courses at Washburn University with the various levels of success that are inevitable in a school with conditional admission standards. As the community college option for this community, the $164 per credit hour cost does not compare favorably with the $79 per credit hour charged at Johnson County Community College.
While the 0.65% Shawnee County retail sales tax has been collected for over five years to provide funds for the university's operating expenses, this has not been used to maintain affordable tuition. Instead, the sales tax receipts have been held to build a reserve of $5.2 million (as of June 30, 2004) and to provide $2.9 million in capital funds for the Stoffer Hall renovation project.
Based on the university's FY06 operating budget, in addition to new student fees, this 9.33% tuition increase will provide more than $2.8 million additional funds. The cost of tuition at Washburn University could be contained if more of the sales tax dollars were allocated to operating expenses. With the University's estimate of $210,000 of additional revenues for each tuition revenue percentage increase, the University could have contained tuition to a 8.33% increase from $150.00 to $162.50 per credit hour by allocating the FY05 year end surplus to next year's operating expenses rather than approving the additional $200,000 for ETC expenditures at the June 17, 2005 Board of Regents meeting.