Dear colleagues,
You may have heard this week that the Kansas Board of Regents approved our request to raise fall tuition by 5.9%. I know that number feels big, and raising tuition is something we wish we could avoid.
However, each year, we must consider all the costs of doing business so we can provide the best quality education and continue to support Kansas families, businesses and the economy.
An important note is that three of the past four years, Wichita State has avoided raising tuition. And with this increase, that averages a 1.7% increase over five years — still keeps WSU as one of the most competitively priced universities in our state.
But the realities of growing inflation costs have made it harder for all Regents universities to maintain current tuition.
With that background, I wanted to provide more detail about what WSU is doing with that increased tuition.
The 5.9% increase to fall 2023 tuition will help fund the following:
- student success and recruitment
- graduate teaching assistants
- scholarships
- retaining talented faculty and staff to support students
- facilities operation
- capital assessment
As always, growing need-based aid and scholarships for students is a huge priority for us.
A great recent example is the $4.2 million in additional funds recently allocated to WSU so we can continue to provide need-based aid for those who struggle most to pay for college.
We remain proud of and committed to our efforts to provide an accessible and affordable education and will continue to work hard to help all students succeed at Wichita State.
Shirley Lefever,
Provost