News Releases

Thursday, November 11, 2010

The report from a thorough third-party review states that the University of Kansas School of Business properly spent funds raised through differential tuition rates since they were adopted six years ago.

The report by BKD LLP, a public accounting firm hired by the Office of the Provost and overseen by a steering committee of faculty, staff and students, said that 99.8 percent of the school’s differential tuition funds were “expended in ways that are consistent with the spending categories described in the DT (differential tuition) Proposal.”

The review questioned only a small number of transactions and noted, “There could be differences of opinion about whether or not these expenditures conflict with the expenditure guidelines of the DT Proposal.”

“This report clearly affirms that the School of Business has been using differential tuition as promised to increase the quality of a KU business education,” said Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Vitter. “Under the leadership of Dean Bill Fuerst and his team, the curriculum has been expanded, programs have been added, scholarships and student job opportunities have been enhanced and the overall value of a degree has increased.”

The Kansas Board of Regents approved the school’s written proposal for a differential tuition rate in 2004. After a group of students questioned some expenditures earlier this year, Fuerst recommended to the provost that an external review be conducted. The provost approved this recommendation, and BKD was contracted to evaluate whether differential tuition funds had been used in accordance with the general categories and goals stated in the 2004 proposal.

“The BKD report provides full transparency and accountability for the $31 million in differential tuition generated over the past six years,” said Fuerst. “With the report confirming that these funds have been used as intended by the original proposal, the school will continue using them as we have to benefit our students. We will continue to seek input from business students, both undergraduate and graduate, regarding how differential tuition can be used to further enhance the business school program.”

Since differential tuition was adopted, the school has made the improvements described in the original proposal. Because it added new majors as called for in the proposal, the school hired additional faculty and expanded course offerings. More than 1,600 students have graduated with one of the five new majors now offered. Course offerings, including electives, have been increased substantially at both the Lawrence and Edwards campuses for master’s of business administration students and undergraduates.

Additional improvements made by the school through differential tuition funds include expanding academic and career advising services; establishing an entrepreneurship program; increasing study abroad and experiential learning opportunities; providing more scholarships and student employment; doubling the enrollment in the master’s of accounting program; and improving the technology available to business students. These improvements, along with the new majors, provide KU business graduates with the specialized educational background and experiences necessary for them to compete effectively in the job market.

The school’s Student Differential Tuition Advisory Committee, which was allowed to lapse in 2006, has been re-established. The committee met in October to discuss its activities for the remainder of the academic year and will meet again soon to review the BKD report. The committee is responsible for ensuring that the School of Business is accountable for the use of differential tuition funds and for reviewing financial reports prepared by the dean’s office regarding these funds.

Differential tuition provides more than 40 percent of the business school’s annual operating budget.

BKD began its review by inviting all interested students to provide input at a meeting held for that purpose, by phone or in writing. It selected faculty and staff members to interview, many of whom were suggested by students as interview subjects. It also reviewed individual transactions from fiscal year 2004 through fiscal year 2010 for accuracy and to categorize the transactions according to the categories spelled out in the original differential tuition proposal.

The report and other information about differential tuition can be found at business.ku.edu/fees.