KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2010 / NEWS
3A
TUITION (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
were $399,929,966 while tuition
revenues totaled $317,907,310.
State funding for higher education increased by about $25 million, or 7 percent, since 2005. That increase failed to keep up with inflation for that time period, which the Higher Education Price Index calculated to be about 16 percent.
In that same time period, overall tuition revenues increased by 41 percent. Tuition revenues are influenced by enrollment and tuition rates. Between 2005 and 2010, enrollment increased by 5.5 percent. Enrollment at the University increased by 1.7 percent in that stretch, an increase higher only than that of Kansas State University.
The Board of Regents approved the University's latest tuition increase in June. Citing more than $40 million in budget cuts and unfunded mandates, the University raised tuition between 5.2 and 9.2 percent for students not part of a tuition compact.
From 2005 to 2009, tuition at the University increased by 49 percent and 34 percent for resident and nonresident students respectively, the highest increase among all state universities.
Sherrer voted against the latest tuition increase, and called the increase a terrible message to send to students and their family.
"it's hard to be very optimistic," Sherrer said.
"I think the state should give colleges more money because we're the future." Jaseja said. "And if we can't go to college, people aren't going to be able to get jobs."
Vanita Jaseja, a freshman from Overland Park, said if she cannot keep up with the tuition increases, her parents will not be able to pay for her schooling at the University and she'll have to go to junior college instead. Jaseja said the government needs to help its colleges, especially in times of economic stress.
"That is frustrating to me because tuition is already high enough as it is," said Conner Brake, a freshman from Salina. "I feel like I'm almost worried enough right now about student loans."
Even for students whose parents can help cover much of the costs of college, tuition hikes still add stress.
Brake said he feels blessed that his parents can pay for most of college, but it only softens the blow of rising education costs.
"Any time I have to pay more for anything it is always a stressful situation." Brake said.
Thursday's report was inspired by an audit of Florida's higher education program that estimated the cost of its students' excess hours to be $62 million in 2004. Kansas legislators expressed concerns about whether a similar situation existed at its universities. In fiscal year 2009, the six universities spent more than $1.8 billion to educate more than 73,000 full-time students.
The audit found that of 2,792 students at the University who began in fall 2004 and were still enrolled in spring 2009, 400 had excess credit hours, or 14 percent of students analyzed.
Differences between Florida and Kansas higher education funding illustrated why there was little cause for concern in the audit's findings.
"Because Kansas doesn't fund its six universities by credit hour, excess credit hours don't affect state costs," the report said. Floridas funding formula is based largely on the number of credit hours the universities teach.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN KANSAS A breakdown of the audit:
"Even with the most aggressive assumptions, we didn't find any meaningful, achievable cost savings related to excess credit hours," the report said.
Edited by Alex Tretbar
-One in six students in Kansas has excess credit hours.
2005:
State funding for the University: $399,929,966 Tuition revenues: $317,907,310
2009:
2009:
State funding for the University: $428,301,065
Tuition revenues: $449,638,044
university tuition for residents increased by 49 percent between 2005 and 2009, the highest increase among Kansas state universities.
Tuition increases exceed state funding
Between 2005 and 2010:
-Enrollment in Kansas universities increased by 5.5 percent.
-Enrollment at the University increased by 1.7 percent between 2005 and 2010.
- Legislative Division of Post Audit, State of Kansas
ACADEMICS
Graphic by: David Boyd
Librarian: how to finish a book in a mere 10 minutes
BY KELLY MORGAN
kmorgan@kansan.com
only 10 minutes.
Midterms are quickly approaching and students are preparing to complete that last test or paper before fall break. For some students, preparing for midterms means sitting down and looking over their notes. For others, it means actually learning the material for the first time. For those students who fall into the latter category, a new option exists. Kelly Fann, an Information Services Coordinator with the Lawrence Public Library, is spreading the word about a reading strategy that allows people to finish a book in
"In my experience, the strategy will work well with books that you'd read in classes like Western Civ," Fann said. "It's best for fiction though."
Fann said she came across this strategy while attending a library conference. Librarians involved in reader advisory programs spoke highly of the technique. They said it would allow readers to figure out the plot, main characters and basic ideas of larger books in a short amount of time.
To accomplish this, a reader must complete a set of tasks ranging from memorizing the author of a book to reading the middle chapter. By the end, a reader will have read a book's foreword, introduction, acknowledgements and more.
"Whenever I use something like Spark Notes, I feel like they make up my mind about certain ideas in a story," Fann said. "I like how this provides me with the opportunity to make up my own mind."
"I like the idea, but I'd be concerned that if I went too fast that I wouldn't pick up on the things I'd
John Bennet, a senior from Tucson, Ariz., is a self-proclaimed procrastinator. The idea of reading a book in only 10 minutes is appealing but unrealistic, said Bennet.
need to know for a test," he said.
While the strategy might not work for all students, the timesaving possibilities are enough to tempt some of them.
"If there was a bit more time to read the chapters I think it would work fairly well," said Emily Sis, a junior from Rogers, Ark. "I definitely think it would work for some books and if it helps me to read my assignments faster then I think it would be worth a shot."
Edited by Sean Tokarz
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
Kelly Fanning of the Lawrence Public Library has a strategy to help students read a book in ten minutes. Although you are not reading the book in its entirety, the strategy lets you understand what the book is all about.
A guide to flying through your readinas
Minute one: Memorize the title and the author.
Minute two: Read the back cover, inside cover and recommendations. Check reviews on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com—these will often give overall plot synopsis in addition to the user's reaction to the content.
Minute three: Scan the front cover. You can judge a book by its cover. Publishers are making flashier covers that say a lot about the book's
content. Typefaces, colors, and pictures speak volumes for what lies in the pages.
content. Typefaces, colors, and pictures speak volumes for what lies in the pages.
Minute four: Read the foreword, introduction, and acknowledgements. This offers a surprising amount of insight into the rest of the book.
Minutes five and six: Find the key chapter. It's not always the first or last chapters. Often it's chapter 3 or 4; sometimes it's right smack in the middle. For non-fiction or textbooks, it might be easier to find the key paragraph within each chapter.
Minutes seven through sine: Look for clues to the plot. This takes practice. Scan through the book flipping through the pages and look for words or dialogue that stand out. As you practice, you'll get faster at picking them out. Often it's just the first sentence of each paragraph or the caption under texts with a lot of pictures and diagrams.
minute 10: Summarize. Put it to memory. Writing it out helps to store the book into your mind so you can recall it later for discussions or exams.
THIS WEEK
TOUCHDOWN
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KCBEERFEST:LEGENDS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 @ 2:00PM
TASTE LEARN GIVE
Join us in October for the 4th Annual KCBeerfest @ Legends Outlets Kansas City Sample hundreds of beers from around the world, learn more about craft brews and raise money for charity!
$25 in advance / $30 at the door
WWW.KCBEERFEST.COM
KCBerfest is a fundraiser for the AIDS Services Foundation of Greater Kansas City (www.asfkc.org) and the Kansas City Free Health Clinic (www.kcree.org).