U of L Tuition Increase Proposed

University of Louisville officials are planning on a 6% tuition increase in the next academic year.President James Ramsey proposed the figure Tuesday, saying it's necessary to offset increasing operating costs and cuts from the state. If the board of trustees and state Council on Postsecondary Education approve the hike, it will be the latest in a string of tuition increases, following a 6% raise approved last year, a 5% increase approved the year prior and several single and double-digit increases in the preceding years.Student Preston Bates says he's disappointed with the proposal, even though tuition increases are inevitable."It is getting too expensive," he says. "But I don't know. Outside of raising private money through donations, I don't know what we can do to keep tuition low. The state doesn't have any money." Vice President for Finance Michael Curtin says he hopes one day funding from the state and other sources will improve and tuition increases can become smaller. But he adds the education landscape is changing, and many students are now turning to community colleges after high school when they might have applied to U of L in years past."The two research universities have a very distinctive mission and it just has a higher cost profile than some of the other institutions. So if you want to go to a research university, generally speaking, they tend to be higher-priced in tuition," he says.If the proposal is approved, annual tuition for in-state undergraduate students will be just under $9,000.Ramsey also proposed increasing scholarships and giving faculty and staff pay raises, which would not be funded by the tuition increase.