Iowa Board of Regents throw support behind boost in tuition

Despite advocating in the fall for an unprecedented third full year of frozen tuition for resident undergraduates at Iowa's public universities, Regent Larry McKibben this week said he probably will support an unprecedented proposal for a midyear increase in rates.

'Would I rather have a tuition freeze for a full year?” McKibben said. 'I supported that. But one also has to be in a position to make common-sense adjustments when necessary.”

The state Board of Regents next week will discuss a proposal to increase resident undergraduate tuition by 3 percent - or $100 - for the spring semester.

Regents had approved a freeze for the full academic year - conditional on support from the Legislature - but this week proposed the midyear increase after recently learning state appropriations would fall far short of expectations.

'Obviously, we would have preferred it if the Legislature would have come to an agreement that would have helped us support a freeze,” McKibben told The Gazette on Wednesday. 'But we have to look at the needs of the universities.”

The Board of Regents last fall considered a 1.75 percent tuition increase for resident undergraduates in the 2015-16 academic year. It would have been the first increase since fall 2012.

But McKibben countered with a proposal to freeze rates for a third consecutive year, citing, in part, anticipated savings from an efficiency review underway across the three regent universities.

'The universities already are moving on projects,” McKibben said in October. 'That is not money we are going to take back. We are going to repurpose it at the universities.”

McKibben's proposal gained unanimous support from the nine-member board - despite concerns from some students, faculty and leaders at University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University.

Declining enrollment at UNI and growing enrollment at ISU had both campuses seeking more tuition revenue. But the board expressed confidence in the system's ability to accommodate a third freeze as long as the Legislature came through with a requested appropriations increase of 4.3 percent - equal to $21.7 million.

Instead, this year's General Assembly approved incremental funding for general university operations less than one-half percent above 2015 levels.

'I know what the students said,” McKibben said. '‘Don't cut us to a level that impacts our educational experience.'”

McKibben said the public should not infer from his preliminary support for a tuition increase that results from the board's Transparent Inclusive Efficiency Review, or TIER, are not meeting expectations. But, he said, 'This is not an overnight experience.”

'TIER is moving very very well, I'm pleased,” he said. 'But like a lot of things in life, things don't always move as fast as you want them to.”

Transforming collegiate operations, methodologies and building use takes time, according to McKibben. And those changes are not without implementation expenses, he said.

'I see great opportunities, but I don't see it backfilling some of the needs of the universities,” McKibben said.

University officials have said they don't expect the $100 tuition increase to affect student financial aid packages, and McKibben said he's glad the proposed bump is relatively small.

'I was pleased that we did not have to make substantial increases in tuition with this kind of short notice,” he said. 'I know the students want a great educational experience and, by and large, I think they will support the $100 in light of current operations.”

Katie Mulholland, regents president pro tem, told The Gazette on Wednesday that - based on the information she has right now - she, too, favors an increase.

'Supporting it is the most practical approach because of the gap in the state funding allocation for the upcoming academic year,” she wrote in an email.

But UI senior Emma Dellopoulos, 21, of Des Moines, said every dollar counts for her, and she's not happy about the proposal.

'I already have three jobs - I'm trying to pay tuition and rent - and it's a huge burden,” Dellopoulos said.

She lives near downtown Iowa City but later this week will move farther from campus to save money.

'We are moving to Coralville because we're broke,” she said.