Category | News

GTP phased out for new, transfer students

Published on April 28, 2009 by Andy Nelson

The Board of Regents has announced that tuition rates will remain the same for returning KSU students for the 2009-2010 academic year; incoming freshmen and transfer students, however, will be charged KSU’s per-credit-hour rate of $134 up to the fifteenth semester hour due to the phasing out of the Guaranteed Tuition Plan.

In the past, students were only charged rates up to the twelfth hour, with any additional hours being free of charge.

Joe Head, assistant vice-president of Enrollment Services and dean of University Admissions, said the Guaranteed Tuition Plan has been around for four years and was initially intended to encourage students to graduate in four years. It is being discontinued because the Board of Regents has found that overall, the plan has not persuaded students to graduate on time. Students enrolled at KSU in Fall 2006, Fall 2007 or Fall 2008 will not see any changes in their tuition rates and are still considered to be under the GTP. Any students whose plans are set to expire will be required to pay the rates set for new and transfer students this fall.

Head reported that this change will not affect the standard for students who are receiving the HOPE Scholarship or other forms of Financial Aid that require students to enroll full-time.

Head also stated that there had been some confusion about the information released. On April 24, an email was sent out in order to remedy this confusion.

“This change does not cancel nor replace the national standard definition for full-time status as it relates to regulations qualifying for services such as: Financial Aid, Enrollment Verifications, Insurance, Scholarship, etc. HOPE funding will cover additional credit hours beyond 12 for students who are eligible. KSU will update tuition tables by the end of April 2009 for future terms,” the email stated.

“The national standard for full-time enrollment is still set at 12 hours,” said Head. “All the Board of Regents did was decide to charge [new students] for the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth hour. The Board of Regents expanded the definition of ‘full-time’ regarding billable hours only. Any hours above 15 are at no charge.”

In addition to these changes, the institutional fee implemented this spring is expected to continue until further notice because of the economic situation. This fee charges students $50, $75 or $100 per semester depending on the mission. KSU students will be charged at the $100 rate.

“The Board of Regents has the schools divided up into separate categories, and [KSU] is classified as a regional and state university,” said Rita Adams, bursar at KSU. “State colleges and two-year colleges are charged $50, state universities are charged $75 and regional and state universities are charged $100. It is expected to be extended through fall and is also included in the summer semester.”

“I expect the increased ceiling to charge for hours 12-15 to be with us for some time due to the economy,” said Head.