Regents, don't pass the buck

If leaders at the state's public universities think their current budgets look ugly, just wait until next year.

Decisions for the 2010-11 fiscal year are going to be especially painful on top of consecutive years of state funding cuts and federal stimulus money running dry.

No question, it's going to hurt.

But a proposed 6 percent tuition increase is not the answer. The Board of Regents must not pass the buck to students and their families, many of whom already are pinched by the economic recession.

When virtually everyone is cutting back - from households to businesses to public and non-profit agencies - it's not time for Regents to ask students to pay so much more.

Regents should opt for a smaller increase, more in line with inflation - as student leaders at ISU and UNI have called for.

And institutions should focus more attention on long-term structural changes - such as dropping weak or little-used programs, or consolidating where it makes sense.

Such changes are the essence of the long-term strategy University of Northern Iowa president Ben Allen advocated when he spoke Monday with The Gazette Editorial Board.

A recent Chronicle of Higher Education survey and report found that even in this near-universal economic downturn, our country's colleges haven't much changed the way they do business. They must.

The way out of these budget woes is forward - through innovation, elimination of duplicate programs, focusing on core subjects and strengths, exploring more online alternatives.

Instead of raising the price tag every time things get tight, schools must identify or create new ways to maintain quality while slashing costs.

Iowa's Regents institutions were initially sheltered from most tough choices by $80 million of one-time federal stimulus dollars. That's not likely to happen again.

To make cuts this fiscal year, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa have proposed staff furloughs, layoffs and student tuition surcharges.

But looking to next year's plan, Regents expect to discuss in December a possible 6 percent tuition increase. Combined with proposed fee increases, that bump would translate into costs rising 8.7 percent at the UI, 5.2 percent at ISU and 5.6 percent at UNI.

Proponents say the increase is necessary to maintain educational quality. But for whom?

As college costs soar, more Iowa families will be priced out of the equation - or amass debt that will burden them for many years.

Regents must resist reaching ever deeper into the pockets of Iowa's students and their families. It's time for our universities, as President Allen put it, to “lower the cost of production.”