Iowa Regents plan maximum 4 percent tuition hike

DES MOINES - In an effort to keep quality higher education accessible for Iowa students and families, the Board of Regents plans to raise tuition just once by no more than 4 percent for the upcoming academic year, its president old lawmakers Wednesday.

The regents likely will arrive at a more specific number when they meet Thursday in Ames and will finalize increases for the state's three public universities this spring, President Michael Richards told the House Appropriations Committee.

In capping a resident undergraduate tuition hike at 4 percent, the regents are stepping back from earlier discussions that called for 7 percent increases annually at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, and 5 percent at the University of Northern Iowa, that were based on the assumption of no state funding increase in fiscal 2019.

Resident undergrad tuition is $7,486 at the UI and $7,456 at UNI and ISU, according to the regents. A 4 percent increase would be about $300 and a 3 percent increase would be nearly $225 a year.

In the past two years, regents have set tuition rates but then increased it closer to the academic year in light of lower-than-expected state funding, Richards said.

That scenario is repeating this year as lawmakers are eyeing midyear budget cuts to deal with revenues that are falling short of projections. Gov. Kim Reynolds has proposed a $5.1 million deappropriation from the regents in the current fiscal year. The House GOP proposed an $8.1 million cut and Senate Republicans called for a $14.6 million cut.

Like state revenues, family income has been down, too, Richards said. 'That's why there hasn't been as much tax.”

So although the university presidents would like a larger funding increase, 'our job is to come up with what the families in the state of Iowa can live with,” hew told reporters.

To give students and their families more certainty, the regents have committed to a one-time tuition increase this year, he said.

'We don't want to come out with a number and then another add-on number,” Richards said. 'We're doing it once.”

That makes the regents' request for $12 million in additional financial aid money essential, Richards and the university presidents told legislators.

The UI and ISU have asked for an additional $5 million apiece and UNI requested $2 million more for need-based financial aid.

Total resources matter, UI President Bruce Harreld told lawmakers. Universities with more resources per student 'have higher outcomes.”

'Revenue directly impacts quality,” UNI President Mark Nook added.

And ISU President Wendy Wintersteen told lawmakers 'funding for higher education should not be seen as a cost” but as an investment.

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