Tuition compact

First-time, degree-seeking freshmen who started prior to the 2018-19 school year had the opportunity to opt-in to the tuition compact. A first-time freshman is a student who starts at KU immediately after graduating from high school or has never attended another college or postsecondary institution. Students who graduate from high school are first-time freshmen, regardless of the number of college or advanced placement credits earned.

First-year freshmen prior to the 2018-19 school year that choose to opt-in to the four-year tuition compact pay a fixed tuition rate, which will remain in effect for the first four years that the student is enrolled. Students in certain academic programs will pay additional course fees, but these will also be set four years in advance.

Students also pay campus fees which are set by the Student Senate and support student services and activities such as the health services center, the recreation and fitness center and the bus system.

Almost all KU bachelor's degree programs take four years to complete if a student takes an average of 16 hours a semester. KU encourages students to maintain a rigorous academic schedule and graduate in four years.

After the tuition compact expires, students will pay the standard tuition rate in effect at that time.

No. The fixed tuition rate is in effect for four years no matter how many courses a student takes.

Yes. It is in effect for the first four calendar years at KU no matter how many semesters the student enrolls in.

No. Both fixed and standard tuition rates have resident and nonresident levels. See tuition rates.

Such a student will continue to pay the same tuition compact rate. For example, a student enters KU in August 2011 but withdraws the following year. If that student re-enters KU in fall 2013, s/he will pay the 2011 freshman fixed tuition rate until it expires in July 2016.

The clock does not stop if the student leaves campus. The student continues to pay the fixed tuition rate for four years.

Note: Participation in an internship or study abroad program does not prevent students from graduating within four years. In fact, students who study abroad while at KU have higher four-year graduation rates.

Students who need to leave KU for extenuating circumstances will continue to pay the fixed tuition rate if they re-enroll. Their fixed tuition rate will be extended beyond its normal expiration date for a period matching the student's absence.

The University Registrar must verify any extenuating circumstances such as military service or emergency medical conditions.

Of all undergraduate programs at KU, only four are designed to take longer than four years to complete. They are:

• Architectural engineering
• Industrial design
• Music therapy
• Visual arts education

In 2010, KU implemented a fixed-rate, guaranteed tuition rate, beginning with those students entering the Pharm. D. program in fall 2010 (Pharm. D. class of 2014). The fixed-rate, guaranteed tuition for the four-year Pharm. D. program includes 100 percent of all tuition and fee-related charges: tuition, course fees, and campus fees. A new four-year rate will be set for each new incoming Pharm. D. class. That annual rate would remain unchanged for the four years of the Pharm. D. program.

A survey of Schools of Pharmacy in the Big 12 and selected schools in surrounding states shows that KU tuition and fees for first year resident Pharm. D. students are the very lowest in the group, while KU's National Institutes of Health ranking is the best and second highest nationwide.