The UK Board of Trustees approved an capital and operating budget with tuition and fee increases for all UK students Friday afternoon. 

The university’s operating and capital budget will included in-state tuition being increased five percent for the 2016-2017 academic year. Non-resident and graduate tuition will increase 8.5 percent. Housing fees for students living in residence halls will also increase three percent. 

All members of the board present voted in favor of the budget, except for David Hawpe. During the meeting, Hawpe recognized President Eli Capilouto for visiting Frankfort and criticizing cuts to higher education funding. 

“I’d like to vote yes (on the budget), but to do so would impose an tuition increase that could have been avoided if those who wrote the state spending plan had been equally as responsible (as Capilouto) in their work,” said Hawpe during the afternoon meeting of the Board of Trustees. “The House version of the state’s financial budget proved that it was possible to do right by both the state’s public pension problem and our public campuses. The governor and a Senate majority insisted on compounding higher education cuts that have accumulated over the past several years. Their goal should have been to reverse the damage.”

UK will receive $267 million in state appropriations for the next year, which is the same amount UK received 18 years ago, when most of the incoming freshman class was born. 

The budget will be $3.5 billion, a 4.6 percent increase since last year. 

The board also approved extending Capilouto’s contract to June 30, 2021. Capilouto’s contract now will include a salary of almost $790,000, which is about a 47.5 percent increase from his current salary. This will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017. 

During Friday’s meetings, revisions were made and approved to UK’s Code of Student Conduct. These include:

• Defining the code’s scope
• Ensuring the code complies with the most recent federal and state laws, such as the Clery Act and Title IX
• Adding a formal amnesty policy so students who may have used an illegal substance can request medical attention for themselves
• Including UK’s affirmative consent policy
• Adding a cyberbullying policy

The Board of Trustees also approved renaming five of UK’s newest residence halls after some of the university’s “mothers” and President Herman Donovan. Limestone Park I will become Sarah Bennet Holmes Hall, Limestone Park II will become Cleona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall, Champions Court I will become Frances Jewell Hall, Champions Court II will become Georgia M. Blazer Hall, Central Hall II will become Herman Lee Donovan Hall. 

Plans were also announced during the afternoon meeting for UK to explore a parking facility to be located in the current Jersey Street parking lot. This is a lot UK has owned for several years near businesses such as Raising Canes, CD Central and more. 

Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Eric N. Monday said UK will release a Request for Proposals and look for a potential partner for the project later this summer. Currently, university officials want the facility to have businesses located in the ground floor and upper levels with a few hundred parking spaces. 

Read about results of Friday morning’s meetings here.