Proposal would freeze tuition at 2-year colleges

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Council on Postsecondary Education is
considering a proposal that would freeze tuition at the state's community and technical colleges for the next two years.

The move would be a response to the drop in enrollment of full-time students at the state's 16 colleges since 2002.

"We are putting this on the table as a product of a genuine concern over whether the rising tuition of recent years is having a negative effect on enrollment at what is supposed to be our low-cost provider," said Brad Cowgill, interim president of the Council on Postsecondary Education.

Tuition costs at those schools, which make up the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, has more than doubled since 2000 to $3,450 for 30 credit hours over two semesters.

Overall enrollment has grown since 2000, but only because of a big increase in part-time students. Currently, 86,475 students are enrolled at the 16 community and technical colleges, but 53,615 are part-timers.

"The number of students attending KCTCS full-time leveled off and then decreased since 2002 as tuition rose steeply," a draft of the tuition freeze proposal says. "This suggests some price sensitivity developing among KCTCS students."

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