1. Tuition likely to rise 3.5 percent

President Lester Lefton told a group of student media leaders last week that tuition for the 2010-2011 school year is likely to rise 3.5 percent.

Lefton said the bump will come about because of expected state budget cuts to higher education.

“When they cut our budget by 8 percent, you can almost be sure we will (have to raise tuition),” Lefton said. “Otherwise, we’ll have to start closing some stuff down.”

The expected 3.5 percent bump would match the tuition raise for the 2009-2010 school year, which the Board of Trustees passed in July. Under the raise, undergraduate tuition would be $4,515 for a full-time, in-state student.

2. Dorms to start offering triple rooms

Because of recent increases in enrollment, Residence Services is now offering triple rooms in certain dorms for the fall semester.

The change will affect 150 rooms in Stopher/Johnson and Centennial Court D, E and F. Those halls previously offered just double rooms.

The changes came about after Residence Services conducted a fall survey that asked dorm residents whether they would be interested in paying a reduced rate to live in a triple room. More than 50 percent of the respondents said they would be interested.

Residence Services also sent out an e-mail Sunday explaining the changes being made to the dorms for fall semester.

3. Council passes plan to extend Esplanade into downtown Kent

Kent City Council voted Wednesday night to go ahead with the proposed plans to extend the Kent State Esplanade into downtown Kent.

Council members will sign a declaration of intent to extend the Esplanade. The university, PARTA, Kent City School District, Fairmount Properties and Pizzuti Development, LLC, are also expected to sign.

Council members and Kent State officials said this would be a big step in improving the relationship between the city and university.

“It’s great,” said Gregg Floyd, vice president of finance and administration at the university. “It’s a further reflection of the partnership between the university and the city.”

4. Sherman’s dunk powers Flashes to win

With 7.1 seconds remaining in Saturday’s game against Western Michigan, the Kent State men’s basketball team trailed the Broncos 73-71.

Then junior Rodriquez Sherman took an inbound pass from teammate Chris Singletary, drove the length of the floor and dunked the ball while being fouled, bringing the M.A.C. Center crowd to its feet.

Sherman hit the ensuing free throw to give the Flashes a 74-73 win. His dunk was ranked No. 5 on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays of the week.

The Flashes followed the win over Western Michigan with a 76-46 victory Monday over Northern Illinois, their fifth straight triumph.

5. Spring enrollment hits record high

Spring enrollment at Kent State’s eight campuses is higher than it’s ever been, according to 15th-day statistics released earlier this week.

The combined Spring 2010 enrollment is 38,196 students, an 11.6 percent increase over the previous record of 34,222 students in Spring 2009. The main campus has 23,834 students enrolled.

“We continue to see impressive enrollment numbers,” President Lester Lefton said in a statement. “As we enter our second century of service, we are building on the strong momentum from last year when we achieved our highest enrollment, had record retention and welcomed our largest freshman class to date.