Regents approve 5 percent tuition hike at Iowa universities

A 5 percent tuition increase for next year at Iowa's regent universities was approved by a 7-2 vote today by state regents.

The 5 percent base increase is for 2011-12 for in-state undergraduates at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.

Several regents said they were reluctant to support a 5 percent increase, but they felt it was the only way to provide the funding to maintain quality at the universities in the face of declining state funding. Tuition now makes up more than half of general education funding at the universities as the state funding portion has declined.

“I hear each of you issue a challenge to the regents and I think you're right,” Regent Ruth Harkin, of Cumming, said after student leaders spoke. “It's really our responsibility to keep tuition down. We are not serving the needs of students by raising tuition. We have been inadequate certainly in sending our message to state political leaders as to what our needs are, and that's something we need to work on.”

Harking and Regent Michael Gartner of Des Moines were the two members who voted no on the tuition increase.

Gartner suggested a plan that would decrease the tuition increase if the universities got more than proposed in state funding from the Legislature, a number that is still undetermined. On the flipside, tuition would have to go up more than 5 percent if the regents get less than some of the proposed state budgets, Gartner said.

Several board members said they thought that was too iffy for this year, and that tuition needed to be set sooner rather than later. But they said it's worth trying to work out a plan in next year's legislative session.

A 5 percent increase makes in-state undergraduate tuition $6,436 at the UI and $6,408 at ISU and UNI. When mandatory fees are added, the total increase is 4.7 at the UI, 7 percent at ISU and 4.9 percent at UNI. Out-of-state students will pay 3.5 percent to 6 percent more in tuition under the plan.