LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Some students at Haskell Indian Nations University will pay nearly triple the amount of student fees next year as the school seeks increased revenue to boost services on campus even as it absorbs cuts in federal funding.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports (https://bit.ly/1j6P09V ) that Haskell’s regents on Wednesday approved a one-time fee increase from the current $265 to $715 in the fall for on-campus students. Off-campus students will not see higher fees. The increase was requested by members of Haskell’s Student Senate.
Haskell has an average enrollment of about 1,000 students representing more than 150 tribes. It is a federal university that is managed through the Bureau of Indian Education and governed by a board of regents. University leaders said the additional fees will help operations after automatic federal budget cuts were made in 2013.
Haskell officials didn’t immediately return messages Thursday from The Associated Press seeking additional financial information about the school.
President Venida Chenault said Wednesday that several staff positions were left vacant because of the cuts. Haskell’s admission office told the regents that university administrators were seeking to limit the number of students who need remedial courses because of budget constraints.
“We have to be more strategic about what we’re doing,” Chenault said.
Chenault became Haskell’s president this spring after serving as vice president of academic affairs since 2004. She said federal budget cuts forced the university to make difficult decisions.
“I hate having students coming here and seeing rooms that haven’t been painted in five years because we’re trying to save money,” she said.
Haskell was established in 1884 and is one of two federally operated higher education institutions, along with Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico.
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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, https://www.ljworld.com
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