2-Year Contract Option

Given recent experience and the continued volatility of energy and food prices, we believe students and their families might appreciate the option to choose a rate that would remain constant. As a planning tool, this 2-year housing contract offers a stable foundation on which to help build a college budget.

KU Student Housing has only one source of income – fees paid by students who choose to live in on-campus facilities. Costs for utilities, food, and materials have risen much faster than the basic rate of inflation for several years. Those kinds of fiscal pressures have required room rent and meal plan increases averaging 6.0% per year since 2001. For example: the room and meal plan rate increase for 2007-08 is 5.6% over the 2006-07 rate.

For Fall 2007, students in residence halls, scholarship halls, and the Jayhawker Towers have the option of selecting either a one-year or two-year contract rate. The two-year contract rate will remain the same for both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years.

This is the first time KU Student Housing has tried to forecast increases and offer a multi-year contract rate. The University will evaluate this new approach in the coming months to determine its success and whether to make additional changes in the future.