The WKU Board of Regents will consider two proposals for tuition in a special meeting Wednesday — one holding the line for the coming year, and the other increasing tuition by 2%.

The board also will vote on waiving the surcharge students pay for taking a class online for 2020-21. That fee currently is $150 per credit hour, or $450 for a three-hour course.

If the board adopts the 2% increase in tuition for in-state undergraduates, it would generate about $2.4 million for a budget expected to be hit hard by the global coronavirus pandemic. WKU has projected it will face a budget shortfall of $27.1 million in 2020-21 because of expected declines in enrollment and state support as a result of the pandemic and its impact on the economy.

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According to documents in the regents’ agenda packet, WKU President Timothy Caboni is making no recommendation on whether the regents should hold tuition steady or increase it.

A 2% increase in tuition would add a little more than $100 to the current $5,401 in tuition paid by in-state undergrads.

The elimination of the distance learning surcharge fee, which is currently set at $150 per credit hour, would result in a one-year revenue loss of $4.15 million, according to agenda documents.

About $1.6 million of the $4.15 million would directly affect the Division of Extended Learning and Outreach. DELO would be expected to handle the $1.6 million deficit by reducing its expenditures equally. The remaining $2.55 million would “contribute to the total anticipated budget shortfall of $27.1 million,” according to the documents.