UL Committee Passes Tuition Increase

The University of Louisville Board of Trustees’ finance committee approved a six percent tuition increase today.The measure will go to the full board in June and needs final approval from the State Council on Post-Secondary Education.Because state funding has been cut, Ramsey says U of L has few other options but to raise tuition."Building a world class university takes money, it takes resources," he says "it takes investment and we’re focused on quality and that takes more money and mike’s reference was we’re not gonna open the door to bring more students in to pay the bill, we’re gonna stay focused on quality.”A six percent increase is the largest allowed by the CPE, and this is the latest in a string of annual tuition hikes. But UofL President James Ramsey says higher education is worth the cost.“It’s an investment good it’s not a consumption good and it’s the best investment you can make," says Ramsey "you’re investing in your human capital and there’s no better rate of return that you can earn,  so you really shouldn’t look at it as a consumption good.”Ramsey says state statutes require the school to be a top national research university and that means costly improvements. He adds that those improvements must partially be paid through tuition because state funding for universities is lacking.