The WKU Board of Regents approved raising tuition by $204, a 1.69% increase for undergraduate students, on Friday.
The Board of Regents meeting voted to raise tuition pricing from $6,036 to $6,240 per semester as part of the approval for the new operating budget. This is a $6 reduction from the price given in the agenda before the meeting.
It was coupled with a 5% increase in the housing rates, a 2% increase in the meal plan rates and an increase in the price of the Big Red Backpack from $24 to $26 per credit hour.
This approval marks the sixth consecutive fiscal year of tuition increases at WKU.
“We’ve done everything in our power to keep the increases moderate,” Timothy Caboni, president of WKU, said. “We also have invested in a scholarship model for our students, and so while sticker price has been going up, the vast majority of our students receive some sort of discount and scholarship aid.”
All regents voted in favor of this approval except for Rush Robinson, former president of the WKU Student Government Association, during his last meeting as student regent.
“If one of our guidelines is to preserve affordability and student access, we have to do whatever we can to not raise the tuition,” Robinson said.
The approved operating budget for the 2027 fiscal year is $405 million, a $1 million increase from last year’s operating budget. This means WKU will have $1 million more as part of its budget for the 2027 fiscal year. Currently, there is no pool to increase salary; however, that will be reevaluated in the fall.
The Board of Regents also approved the suspension of multiple majors. The majors include a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology to rework the program to better meet industry standards.
The approval also suspends the Bachelor in Geological Sciences to merge it with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sustainability and Geological Studies to create Environmental Earth and Sustainable Sciences. This new major will reside within the Ogden College of Science and Engineering.
The Bachelor of Arts in Advertising will also be suspended and merged with the Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations to house them under the same program.
Students currently enrolled in these majors will be offered the opportunity to switch to the new version or continue with their current major, only to finish their degree.
This rework is meant to “make sure that our students are ready to move from here to a career,” Bud Fischer, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said.
