UK announces 2023-24 housing and dining rates
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2022) — University of Kentucky housing and dining rates will increase for the 2023-2024 academic year due to inflation and rising costs. The UK Board of Trustees approved the housing increase during its December meeting.
Dining rates and plans are based on an agreement with Aramark, the university’s dining partner.
The cumulative rate increase for university-constructed residence hall units will be 4%, significantly lower than marketplace rent increases in Lexington. Break housing and early move-in rates will also increase 4%.
The year-over-year rent increase for Lexington is currently 16.6% with an overall 34.1% jump in rental housing since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, according to a recent report by ApartmentList.com.
“The new housing rate is necessary to fund rising operating costs due to price increases in utilities, maintenance and supplies,” said Eric N. Monday, UK executive vice president for finance and administration. “Additionally, the increase in the dining plan is reflective of rising food prices and inflation being experienced in every sector.”
All students living in undergraduate residence halls are required to purchase a dining plan with the exception of University Flats residence halls. Dining rates will increase an average of 8.9%, below current food inflation rates.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of food in America rose 11.2% from Sept. 2021 to Sept. 2022. The food and beverage industry as a whole also continues to overcome supply chain disruptions.
“While we are plagued with same inflationary cost increases that families, businesses and college campuses are facing across the nation, we have worked to minimize the impact as much as possible,” Monday said. “We also are committed to continually evaluating our efforts, working with our dining partner, to continue to provide healthy and reasonably priced options.”
More information on individual room rates can be found here.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.