PAGE 10A
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013
MONEY MATTERS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuition jumps for fifth-year students
JENNIFER SALVA
jsalva@kansan.com
Undergraduates who take more than four years to earn their degree are faced with a steep increase in tuition starting their ninth semester. The University's freshman tuition compact guarantees first-time freshmen fixed tuition rates for four years, then bills students the current tuition rate in their fifth year of study. First-time freshmen are students who have never attended another college or university.
For in-state students beginning their fifth year of study this fall, the cost per credit hour is $63.75 more than the amount they paid their freshman year and the three years after. If a fifth-year senior takes 12 credit hours, that adds up to $765 more each semester than previously paid according to the Fiscal Year 2008-2009 and Fiscal Year 2013-2014 budget proposals. The Office of Financial Aid declined to comment.
Looking back at his education, Swartz is glad he took additional time to graduate in spite of higher fees.
"I spent some time hopping between schools and it was something that wasn't mentioned to me," Swartz said. "I finally learned about it from another student and at that point it was 'Oh well.' Life goes on but I have a bigger bill. Good luck collecting it."
James Swartz graduated last May with a bachelor's degree in Film and Media Studies and a minor in journalism as a sixth-year senior. Swartz didn't learn about the locked-in tuition rate until he was already enrolled.
Swartz didn't plan on taking more than four years to graduate at first. Although he knew he wanted to work in media, he spent time deciding what he enjoyed best.
"I look at where I was at the end of my senior year and at the end of my school career, and I have a lot more confidence in my ability to
succeed plus a better understanding of my field," he said.
Jon Marzette, a fifth-year graphic design major began his time at the University in 2009 after transferring from the Kansas City Art Institute, and expects to graduate in May of 2014. He was not aware of the four-year tuition lock until he began his fourth year of study.
"I don't feel too many positive vibes towards the lock, but I can semi-understand why the University would choose to do that." Marzette said. "It makes people actually get in and get out of school based on budget. But for me personally, I don't feel too fond for it."
Fortunately for students, there are several ways to combat growing tuition rates. Peggy Johnson, a financial advisor at Ameriprise Financial in Lawrence and a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Business, said students should look at as many financial options as possible.
"Planning ahead is the biggest
thing [students] can do", Johnson said. Public college budgets are tight, she said, and it is going to continue to be that way. She recommends working during summer months, exploring work-study programs and conducting an extensive scholarship search.
Finaid.org is a good place to start. Johnson said.
Johnson emphasized the importance of completing FAFSA applications as early as possible, because students may qualify for more awards than those who apply later as funds run out. She warns, however, to spend those student loans wisely.
"I probably see the weakest link as students who spend financial aid on things other than tuition, books, room and board," Johnson said. "Be judicious about how much you borrow. A lot of students could come out with a lot less debt."
Edited by Madison Schultz
COMPARING TUITION COSTS AMONG BIG 12 STATES
Average In-State Tuition and Fees at Public Four-Year and Two-Year Institution, by state. 2012-13
Average Tuition and Fees for 2012-13 Increase over five years, inflation adjusted STATE PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR West Virginia $5883 21 percent Oklahoma $6350 16 percent Kansas $7277 15 percent Iowa $7830 14 percent Texas $8354 18 percent The College Board. Annual Survey of Colleges.
ART
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this November 1988 photo Kansas sculptor Jim Brothers stands in his Lawrence studio with "Across the Beach," one of several bronze sculptures he has created for National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.
Brothers is best known for two projects — creating a sculpture of Dwight Eisenhower that's on display at the Capitol in Washington and as the chief sculptor for the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., said Paul Dorrrell, who represented Brothers and owns the Leopold Gallery in Kansas City. Dorrell said the D-Day contract, which included 12 monumental bronzes and was worth $1.6 million, had a "huge impact on his career."
Jim Brothers died Tuesday at his home in Lawrence where he had been received hospice care, said Audrey Bell, a funeral director at Warren McElwain Mortuary in Lawrence. Friends and colleagues said he had cancer.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas artist whose bronze sculptures are on display in the nation's capital and at historical monuments around the country has died. He was 72.
Renowned sculptor dies in Kansas home
Dorrell and Brothers met in 1991 after a friend said the artist needed representation.
"I saw that Jim had an ability
to communicate raw emotion in bronze that I had never encountered in a regional artist before," he said.
One of his first big monument was one honoring the Civilian Conservation Corp in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. That was followed by a monument of Mark Twain in Hartford, Conn., where Twain lived for about two decades. Along the way, companies, including Boeing, and well known private individuals, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg and the late "Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz also acquired pieces from Brothers.
Kathy Correll, his wife and business manager, said his final piece — a memorial to William Inge, the Kansas playwright who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Picnic" — was completed literally days before he died."
"He was a professional until the end," she said. "It was important to make deadlines and complete his commissions. That was a goal of his. He literally was working on it from his bed dead."
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LOCAL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Students injured in bus accident
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan.
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. — One of two buses taking Missouri sixth-graders to an annual campout overturned in northeast Kansas on Wednesday, injuring at least 20 of those onboard, including the driver.
The bus, which was carrying sixth-grade girls from Pembroke Hills School, overturned when it failed to make it a sharp curve on a highway ramp in Bonner Springs, about 20 miles west of the city, said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Howard Dickinson. Their male classmates at the Kansas City, Mo., private school were on the other bus.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, but 20 of the 36 people onboard, including the driver, were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries ranging from bruises to
"The hardest thing at first was getting the girls calmed down and squared away," he said.
head and neck injuries, Dickinson said.
help after the bus overturned.
Dickinson said, and the driver had to be extricated from the bus by emergency responders. At least two good Samaritans also helped remove students
Several of the girls were placed on backboards out of precaution,
"For the most part most of the girls were acting pretty brave and were up and walking and talking."
from the bus, which had toppled onto its right side and blocked the main door.
"For the most part it was a bunch of brave little 11-year old girls. Some were comforting each other."
Roger Twitchel, the body shop manager at Wagner's Auto Body and Sales, which is located next to the crash site, said he went over to
He said the injuries ranged from as little as a cut lip to possible broken bones. He said emergency crews arrived quickly.
ROGER TWITCHEL Manager at Wagner's Auto
"For the most part it was a bunch of brave little 11-year-old girls. Some were comforting each other."
Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., said the injuries treated at that hospital were "pretty much minor."
Dr. Denise Dowd, an emergency room doctor at Children's
"Good news so far. We received four patients, all with minor bumps and bruises, and it looks like they're doing OK at this point. Nothing
The children who weren't seriously hurt were taken to Bonner Springs High School to be picked up by their parents.
major."
Beth Bryant, a Pembroke Hills spokeswoman, said the children were headed to Tall Oaks camp in Linwood, Kan., for the school's annual campout to mark the start of the school year.
Tow trucks were able to get the bus back on its wheels about two hours after the crash.
Warrenville, Ill-based Durham School Services, which operates the bus, deferred questions to the company's public relations firm, which by mid-afternoon hadn't returned multiple messages seeking comment.
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