Proposed Tuition Freeze Criticized

The president of Kansas State University is speaking out against a proposal to freeze college tuition in the state.

K-State President Kirk Schultz said in a statement Friday that a proposal inserted into a budget being considered by the Legislature would hurt the university’s ability to provide quality academic programs. Schultz said that forcing state universities to maintain fixed tuition rates while holding state funding to flat levels for the next two years would remove flexibility from their budgets.

Schultz said in the Kansas State’s annual enrollment has grown by more than 2,300 students since 2001 and adopting a freeze at this time would have devastating effects.

Due to the growth in funding demands, Schultz said the proposal would effectively result in the biggest budget cut in the university’s history.