KCTCS raises tuition but locks in rates for next year's students

In-state tuition in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System will rise 4 percent for the coming school year, under rates approved Thursday by the system's Board of Regents.

The board also approved a lock-in provision under which students who are enrolled at KCTCS colleges in fall 2010 or spring 2011 may continue to pay the new tuition rate if they enroll for the 2011-12 school year.

"By guaranteeing tuition rates for returning students for the 2011-2012 academic year, we believe we will increase student retention, raise transfer rates and improve credential-completion rates at all of our 16 colleges," Regents Chair Thomas Zawacki said in a prepared statement.

Regents approved the changes Thursday during their quarterly meeting at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.

The boost means KCTCS in-state tuition for 2010-11 will rise from $125 a credit hour to $130.

For out-of-state students, tuition will rise $10 for a credit hour, to $260, for those from counties contiguous to the state line. Tuition for all other out-of-state students rises from $425 a credit hour to $445.

This story was originally published June 18, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "KCTCS raises tuition but locks in rates for next year's students."