By John Byczkowski
Enquirer staff writer

Parents of Kentucky students can begin pre-paying college tuition today, when enrollment in the state's new Kentucky's Affordable Prepaid Tuition plan opens for enrollment.

Families can purchase contracts for one to five years of tuition at a range of Kentucky colleges and universities, including two-year and four-year public schools, as well as private schools. Buying a $5,724 contract for one year at a four-year Kentucky public university, for instance, will cover a future year's tuition, even if tuition rises. Families earn a tax benefit because the investment growth of the contract is tax exempt.

"The programs help families save by allowing them to pay tomorrow's colleges costs at lower prices today," said Jo Carole Ellis, director of KAPT. Contracts can be purchased in a lump sum, or paid off in installments. Students must be in the program for two years before cashing in the contracts, and the contract must be purchased in full before it can be used, Ellis said.

Financial planner Jeff Daniher of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC in Anderson Township said programs like KAPT are best for investors who don't have the stomach for the stock market. Other programs, however, may offer more flexibility than KAPT - allowing savings to be used, for instance, for tuition at private high schools, he said.

KAPT's enrollment period ends Dec. 13. First payments are due Feb. 1, 2005. For more information, call the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority at 1-888-919-KAPT, or visit http://www.getkapt.com on the Web.

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E-mail johnb@enquirer.com