Office of the President
                                                April 4, 1989




                                                FCRS




Members, Board of Trustees:

             ESTABLISHMENT OF A MANDATORY REGISTRATION FEE POLICY

Reconmmendation: that the mandatory registration fee be set considering the
ability of Kentucky students to pay as well as the levels of such fees charged
at similar institutions. These criteria will provide the context within which
increases in the level of the registration fee will be proposed and
considered. The mandatory registration fee in this policy is defined as those
fees charged all students beyond tuition levels set by the Kentucky Council on
Higher Education.

The total mandatory registration fee will not exceed the median level of the
mandatory fees assessed at the benchmark institutions as adjusted by the
relationship of Kentucky's per capita income (PCPI) to the median PCPI of the
benchmark state. (For example, if the median of the fees at the benchmarks as
a percentage of per capita personal income is 2.5% the registration fee at the
University will not exceed 2.57% of the Kentucky per capita personal income.)

BkacrQw=d.   Prior to July 1982, the Council on Higher Education limited
institutions from assessing student fees in excess of $20 per semester. In
1982, the Council eliminated the ceiling on student fees, and consistent with
House Bill 622, institutions assumed responsibility for setting such fees. At
its June 21, 1988 meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a recommendation
directing the President to develop a policy for changes in mandatory fees.
This policy was to establish guidelines for review of the fee and to include
factors to be utilized in establishing or increasing fees.    Further, the
proposed policy was to consider the factors utilized in the Council on Higher
Education tuition policy to include fees charged at comparable institutions
and the students' ability to pay in Kentucky. The formulation of the policy
was to involve consultation with the Student Government Association.

This policy does not imply that the registration fee would automatically be
adjusted upward; rather, it sets an upper limit for the establishment of the
fee. Any adjustments to the current fee will continue to be brought to the
Board of Trustees for review and approval within the context of this policy.



Date: April 4. 1989



Action taken:  Approved             Disapproved              Other