6A SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1996
KU EDITION
LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
By the hour ...
Starting this summer, Kansas University tuition will be paid on a per-credit hour basis.
KU projects that 74% of undergrads and 85% of graduate students will pay the same or less tuition than under the previous flat-rate plan.
Cost per credit hour:
in-state out-of-state
Under-
graduate $63 $265
Graduate $94 $309
Source: Kansas University
KU changes tuition structure
TERRY STEVENS/J-W GRAPHIC
- Students will pay tuition this fall semester by the credit hour rather than on a lump-sum basis.
BY TIM CARPENTER
JOURNAL-WORLD WRITER
A pamphlet distributed to Kansas University students touts the new tuition payment plan as a "custom fit."
The man on the cover of the flier sports a suit from the 1950s, a toothy smile and confidence that the information inside "affects you."
In this case, custom fit is defined as a system that requires students
to pay a set amount for each credit hour of courses they take.
The effect is undergraduate resident students pay $63 for each credit hour while nonresident undergraduates pay $265 a credit hour.
Resident graduate students pay $94 a pop and nonresident graduate students need $309 per hour.
"Under this policy, some students will pay less," said David Shulenburger, KU vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Some students will pay more."
Historically, KU's part-time students paid a flat rate and full-
timers plunked down a higher lump sum.
T tuition for three-fourths of KU undergraduates will remain the same or decline this fall semester under the new system. The tally for students taking more than 15 hours will rise.
Approximately 85 percent of graduate students will be charged the same or less, while those with more than 12 hours will pay more.
This tuition change was adopted in time for the summer term at KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University. The three remaining Board of Regents universities retained the old plan.
Ray Hauke, regents budget director, said the full impact of the changes couldn't be predicted. However, the potential exists for fluctuation in enrollment this fall.
Reasons regents adopted the change:
- Discourage students from shopping for courses. Common practice was to enroll in many courses, decide after a few days of classes which ones to keep and drop the rest.
- Create a direct association at the three universities between revenue and student credit hours produced.
- Make tuition equitable to all
students. In the past, students barely over the part-time limit had to pay full rate.
KU honor student David Gibson of Overland Park said the last reason given for the new tuition policy didn't stand up to scrutiny.
He said the policy would discourage stellar students who challenged themselves with an especially heavy course load —21 hours a semester, for example —from taking classes that didn't fill specific graduation requirements.
"You will see crowding of the core curriculum," he said. "The more interesting, obscure courses will drop like flies."
IOURNAL-WORLD PHOTO
Watson Library is the main library on the KU campus.
Library system expands information technology
Continued from page 4A
quickly," he said. "Students will be able to get deeper into the information."
"There's no waiting in line and you can do it from your computer. You don't have to wait for the library to open on Monday."
"Right now it's a cumbersome process," Crowe said. "In the future it will be imbedded in the system, so if you want a book that someone else has, you punch that in and a card is sent to that person saying, 'Please return the book to the library in 10 days' or whatever.
Even simple tasks such as checking out library materials will be easier, Crowe said. For example, placing a reserve on a checked out book now requires several steps. In the future it won't.
The human factor
It sounds convenient and
quick, but also a little intimidating.
No need to be shy. Crowe said. That's why the library staff is there.
"We hire people who are able to troubleshoot real problems," he said. "And you want to talk to a human being—that won't go away. The lines will just get shorter so they can spend more time with you and help with research strategies."
One of those directly involved in student services is Cindy Pierard, a reference librarian and coordinator of library instruction.
"Research is changing so much," she said. "So much more information is seemingly 'readily available' and part of that is knowing how to use it. We try to help people discover what's out there and how they can use it."
Pierard works with students for as little as a few minutes or as long
as a semester finding information.
"I'd like to be able to reach more people than we do," she said. "Reference librarians have hit-and-run encounters with students. A lot of times with students we're not sure what happens. If you work with someone over time you can ask, 'How did that turn out?' That's really rewarding.
"Watching people have success is really gratifying."
The KU library system includes nine libraries throughout campus, as well as some departmental libraries, with Watson Library serving as anchor. The KU collections contain approximately 3.3 million volumes, and materials written in more than 36 languages.
Anyone can use the library system and materials can be checked out by KU faculty, staff and students, Kansas residents, KU alumni and faculty and students of other Kansas universities.
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We'll make you feel right at home:
Hemenway caps topsy-turvy inaugural year
Continued from page 1A
"In the past ... sometimes it's taken a year or two before they can actually start doing the lab work they were hired to do."
"The idea is to create greater accountability and to quicken responsiveness," Hemenway said. "We want a student-centered university."
authority over academic and managerial areas. In the past, those duties were split among several people.
Another change will benefit new faculty. He will end the practice of sending them to the bottom of the priority list for laboratory renovation.
The advantage of being at a research university is that undergraduates can work with faculty who are on the cutting edge of a discipline." Hemenway said.
Hemenway said freshman and sophomore students would receive special attention. He intends to expand their research opportunities with senior faculty.
A WORLD OF BOOKS
Information. It will help you succeed in college and in life. You'll get the information you'll need with books on specialized topics from the Mt. Oread Bookshop. With over 20,000 titles in stock, as well as a special order service, you'll have access to one of the best academic bookstores in Kansas.
Official University Source on Campus
Mt. Oread Bookshop Kansas Union, Level Two 913-864-4431