Student Tuition & Fees
So, where is all the tuition money going?
Most of the justification for any tuition increase is for faculty and staff compensation. While faculty salaries have increased, so have their student loads. However, based upon the information below, faculty/staff salaries are not eating up all of the tuition increase. This is how the education/general salaries have changed:
| Year |
Salaries |
Indexed Increase |
| FY02 (actual) |
$30.4 million |
100.0% |
| FY03 (actual) |
31.8 million |
104.5% |
| FY04 (budget) |
35.4 million |
116.2% |
| FY05 (budget) |
37.6 million |
123.5% |
If you attend classes, you know where the money is NOT being spent. Let's look inside some of the classrooms...
This is where some of the additional tuition funds have been allocated:
| Administrative Computing |
| FY02 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
FY05 |
Amount |
% Increase |
| $324,615 |
$727,372 |
$811,117 |
$1,056,080 |
$731,465 |
325.3% |
| Washburn Endowment Association Office Space: |
|
| Purchase of 1729 SW MacVicar |
$235,625 |
| Renovation of 1729 SW MacVicar |
$1,307,000 |
| Total Cost: |
$1,542,625 |
| Miscellaneous projects: |
| Stoffer Building Project |
$8,000,000 |
| Farley's Special Project Fund |
450,000 |
| Foregone cost recovery from auxiliaries (4 yrs) |
350,000 |
| Water Feature: 17th & Washburn |
100,000 |
| Washburn-Lane Lighting Beautification |
100,000 |
University Reserves
University reserves are the equivalent of a savings account. It could also be called university surplus since it represents receipts (one of which is tuition revenue) that exceed expenditures. While institutions need reserves to carry them through lean years and recover from unexpected events, there is no consensus in determining an appropriate amount. It hasn't been formally addressed by the Board of Regents. The University also lacks an inclusive process to determine how the reserves should be spent. In the absence of that broader consultative process, tuition will continue to increase because it can, and reserves will be spent on projects that are more frill than substance, especially as it directly relates to the academic experience.
