KU offers reduced tuition for educators returning to school

Beginning this summer, teachers and administrators living in Kansas can continue their education for less.

The School of Education at the University of Kansas announced this week that educators from public and private schools will be eligible for a “practicing educator rate” at both the Lawrence Campus and Edwards Campus in Overland Park, Kan.

“There’s a lot of things that go into people’s decision-making processes about which institution they might want to attend,” said Rick Ginsberg, School of Education dean. “As much as possible, we wanted to take cost out of the equation for people.”

At the Lawrence campus, qualified educators enrolled in a three-hour course will receive a $140 reduction per semester, and those taking six or more hours will receive a $350 reduction per semester.

Educators at the Edwards Campus will receive a larger reduction: $260 for three hours and $580 for six or more hours.

Ginsberg said that the difference in cost corresponds to the higher fees at the Edwards Campus.

“Over the course of a master’s degree, depending on what campus they’re on, they could save themselves several thousand dollars on the cost of a KU degree,” Ginsberg said.

According to a press release from KU, the educator rate will be adjusted as tuition changes, but will never drop below current rates.

Even though immense changes, including new technology and expectations for interpreting testing data, alone might warrant a return to the classroom, Ginsberg said there’s also a more philosophical justification.

“If schools are the environment where we’re trying to say that schooling is really important for your life and raising your skill set is important for your career, it just makes sense that educators continue having that as a primary value for themselves,” Ginsberg said.