Thursday, November 10, 2016

Universities use funding cuts as excuse to impose huge tuition hikes - Union County Advocate

While state lawmakers attempt to rein in overspending and deal with a public pension crisis spiraling out of control, Kentucky’s universities have figured out how to rake in even more dollars from students while spinning a narrative about Chicken Little trudging across their campuses, heading for the bell towers preparing to squawk: “This time, I really mean it! The sky is falling!” Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King, in a recent presentation he entitled “Effects of Budget Cuts on Kentucky’s Public Institutions,” inadvertently reveals effective magic tricks honed by university bureaucrats, who bemoan modest funding reductions only to enact tuition increases dwarfing the size of those cuts. For instance, King claims Eastern Kentucky University was forced to raise tuition by more than 5 percent while cutting faculty and staff positions because the school garners $3 million less in state funding this year. http://www.thegleaner.com/story/news/local/uca/news/2016/11/01/universities-use-funding-cuts-excuse-impose-huge-tuition-hikes/92356594/