WKU president says 5 percent tuition hike needed - WSMV Channel 4

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) - Western Kentucky University President Gary Ransdell says the school will have to cut staff unless state officials approve a 5 percent increase in tuition.

Ransdell made the comments during a speech Thursday at the Bowling Green campus that was broadcast to other regional campuses in Glasgow, Owensboro and Elizabethtown. He says he expects a battle to get more than a 4% increase. He said if the school gets only a 4% increase "people will lose their jobs."

He said WKU is growing quickly, and state revenues are not keeping up.

Eastern Kentucky University announced this week that regents approved a plan to reduce staff through layoffs, voluntary buyouts and early retirements in an effort to reallocate $23 million.

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