Proposed 6 percent tuition hike for UI nearly double inflation

A proposed 6 percent tuition increase, nearly double expected inflation, is too much to ask families to pay, student leaders at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa say.

Jonathan Turk and Adam Haselhuhn, student government presidents at ISU and UNI, respectively, said they also oppose a recommended $100 one-time tuition surcharge on students at ISU, UNI and the University of Iowa for the spring semester.

The proposals go to the state Board of Regents Thursday in Cedar Falls, though the final tuition vote will be in December.

Turk and Haselhuhn said they would back a 2010-11 tuition increase in line with the upper end of expected education inflation, such as 3.5 percent.

“My No. 1 issue is access and affordability,” Turk, a 21-year-old ISU senior from Bondurant, said. “When you continue to transition the burden of public education from the public to the students, you're going to lose out.”

Mike Currie, UI student government president, said Friday a 5 or 6 percent increase for next year seems inevitable. Currie said he was in tentative support of the $100 surcharge, which he said seems a reasonable amount for every student to pay if it means saving faculty jobs and programs as UI officials work to cut nearly $25 million this year. The surcharge would generate about $5.7 million total this year at the three universities.

“I think it will definitely help with maintaining quality,” Currie said.

A surcharge was one of eight ideas regents asked university leaders to consider in planning budget cuts. The presidents will present those plans Thursday. The regents system must trim nearly $60 million this year for the 10 percent state cut.

The recommendations of the university leaders during such challenging times are critical, Regent Jack Evans of Cedar Rapids said.

“They are the closest to all stakeholders and they best understand the delicate balance between revenue generation and expense reduction,” Evans, a member of The Gazette board of directors, said.

Regents President David Miles of West Des Moines said Friday he was withholding his opinion about the recommendations until the meeting. But he noted university leaders were directed to bring recommendations that protect the quality of the institutions.

Combined with proposed increases in fees, the total increase to tuition and fees next year would be 8.7 percent at the UI, 5.2 percent at ISU and 5.6 percent at UNI. UI officials also are requesting a $60 tuition surcharge for 2010-11 to fund efforts to boost undergraduate retention and graduation.

This year was the first time tuition revenues made up more of the university budgets than state money.