Northern Kentucky University asks legislature for $5 million recurring base funding and $349 million in capital requests

Northern Kentucky University President Katie Short Thompson urged the House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education to align NKU’s general‑fund base with its regional peers and to approve a $5,000,000 recurring increase to close a per‑FTE funding gap.

Thompson told the committee NKU has seen a 17% increase in first‑year enrollment, shortened average time‑to‑degree to about 4.2 years and serves a student body in which roughly 37% are first‑generation and 39% are Pell‑eligible. She described rapid debt‑reduction progress—saying student debt is down about 36% (roughly $9,000) over five years—and argued those outcomes demonstrate NKU’s strong return on investment for the Commonwealth.

"The single most important thing for us to request is an alignment in our general funding, in our base funding," Thompson said. She told members NKU’s general‑fund per full‑time equivalent student is $5,176 and that a gap of about $488 per FTE versus the median non‑research regional institutions totals nearly $5,000,000 for NKU, which is why she requested the recurring amount.

Beyond the base adjustment, Thompson urged the legislature to maintain or increase asset preservation (AP) funding, noting NKU received approximately $46,000,000 in AP during the last biennium while the House Bill 500 draft includes about $17,000,000 for AP statewide. She said AP dollars are needed for essential repairs such as HVAC and roof work.

Thompson also outlined three capital projects prioritized by NKU: a Hale College of Business Academic Center ($150,000,000), renovation of Nunn Hall ($100,000,000), and a math/education/psychology (MEP) building ($99,000,000) intended for life‑cycle renewal and space modernization.

On tuition waivers, Thompson recommended applying a FAFSA requirement to last‑dollar waivers so institutions can target aid more effectively. She said the university supports CPE requests for inflation adjustments and performance‑funding model support.

Thompson described the Young Scholars Academy (YSA), a dual‑credit program focused on first‑generation and low‑income students that currently enrolls about 300 students. She said NKU has a private pledge of $5,400,000 contingent on a recurring state match and asked the subcommittee to support a match to scale the program to about 600 students. "This program is a difference maker for our students," she said.

During questions, Representative Tipton asked whether older adults (65+) use tuition waiver programs; Thompson said only a small number of students—about six to ten depending on course load—use those waivers and that auditing remains an option for non‑degree coursework. Chair Riley confirmed NKU’s capital priorities and closed the presentation. The committee took no immediate votes on NKU’s requests.