June 17, 2021
K-State adopts new simplified tuition and fees structure
Submitted by President Richard Myers and Provost Charles Taber
Dear K-State faculty and staff,
We are writing to update you on the Kansas Board of Regents, or KBOR, approval of our simplified tuition and fees structure.
In early May, we provided an update on the two-phase comprehensive review and redesign of our tuition and fees structure. We charged a task force in November 2020 with developing a proposal for a simplified fee structure that addressed our individual campuswide fees as well as university and college fees assessed when a student takes an online class. This proposal, which was based on a redistribution of our historical tuition and fees rates, was submitted to KBOR in May and approved on June 16 to be implemented for the 2021-2022 academic year. You may view the approved 2021-2022 tuition and fees on the Cashier’s Office website.
The new tuition and fees structure provides much-needed change to help meet the needs of our students. Students and families will now be able to better determine the cost of attendance at K-State. We eliminated some of the fees and merged others into the per-credit-hour tuition rates and college/departmental course fees, which will make our billing statements less overwhelming. We also renamed what was previously called the Campus Privilege fee to the Student Services fee, which more accurately reflects what students receive from that fee. This fee has also been reduced. Finally, we’ve created a separate and distinct tuition and fees structure for online programs.
We are pleased that the new structure gives students greater financial transparency when enrolling in classes. K-State has experienced a steady trend of students mixing their course types by taking a combination of both in-person and online classes. The new structure will assess tuition based on the type of program rather than how the class is delivered to allow students to choose courses based on the preference of modality, and faculty to design courses based on the best mode of instruction.
As always, if students have concerns about financing their education, we encourage them to reach out to their financial aid advisor. Students with concerns about their bills should contact the Cashier’s Office.
Over the next few weeks, the implementation teams are working quickly to update the systems that support our assessment of tuition and fees and communicate these changes to our new and current students, faculty and staff. We invite our advisors and university faculty and staff to attend a training session scheduled for August 3. Please register online if you would like to attend this session. To help prepare for the session and in generating FAQ for the website, please send your questions to kstatesem@k-state.edu.
We will launch the second phase of simplifying our tuition and fees structure in the fall. More details will be available after the start of the semester.
The implementation of a new simplified tuition and fees structure is an important step forward in providing students with flexibility and an easier-to-understand cost of attendance. We appreciate the work of the task force, student leaders, and the communication and technical implementation teams who have advanced this important work.
Sincerely,
Richard B. Myers
President
Charles Taber
Provost and Executive Vice President