LINCOLN — Students at three University of Nebraska institutions will pay as much as 5.5 percent more next year for on-campus housing.
The NU Board of Regents unanimously approved housing rate increases Friday for the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis.
The rate increases come as a university response to higher personnel costs and food expenses. Several university officials said the board needs to keep a close on eye housing rates as student debt loads rise as well.
“We want to be able to keep (housing rate changes) as predictable and moderate as we can,” said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen.
On Kristensen’s campus, a UNK student will pay $7,938 for a double occupancy room with a seven-day meal plan next year, an increase of 5 percent, or $380.
At UNO, housing changes ranged from 1.9 percent to 5.5 percent, depending on the residence hall and payment schedule. For example, a student living in Scott Court on a nine-month contract will pay $5,220 — a 5.5 percent increase, or nearly $300.
Rates at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will automatically increase 5.5 percent under a multiyear rate schedule the regents approved in 2008. Students will pay $8,525 for a seven-day meal plan with a double-occupancy room.
Per-semester housing costs at the Curtis campus will increase 4.1 percent or $50 for a double occupancy room. That will cover the costs of adding satellite TV.
Regent Randy Ferlic of Omaha cautioned the board about future increases, saying at some point continued rate hikes put pressure on students.
“We don’t want to increase student debt more than it is now,” he said.
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