6 percent is too much to ask

State regents are expected to vote today on a tuition increase for university students next year.

They're considering a 6 percent tuition increase for in-state undergraduates at the state's three public universities.

It's a move they began discussing last fall, as they struggled to deal with funding shortfalls and a grim projected financial picture.

But we say now, as we said then, that regents should not balance their institutions' budgets on the backs of students and their families.

Public higher education costs are rising too rapidly at a time when advanced degrees are becoming less an option and more a necessary precursor for successful employment.

If it continues at this pace, Iowa students will be priced out of their own future - or be forced to graduate with unmanageable amounts of debt.

Excellent programs and opportunities are important at our public institutions - but they don't do much good if students can't afford them.

Instead of holding their hands out for more, regents institutions must evolve to provide that excellence and meet the demand for learning in a more affordable way.

Instead of passing the buck, again, to Iowa's cash-strapped families and young adults, regents should demand creative solutions from some of the smart people they employ at our state's three public universities.

It's not sustainable to approve tuition increases so far above the cost of inflation. The best way out of current fiscal troubles is through innovation.

Better to explore short- and long-term structural changes, more distance learning and other changes that will help our public universities fulfill their missions more efficiently and effectively.

We understand costs increase each year, but universities have more flexibility to deal with funding shortfalls than most students do with personal finances. Funding is not a problem that is going away. This economic situation should push university leaders to continue prioritizing and streamlining their operations without sacrificing signature and core programs.

Regents President David Miles recently called the proposed tuition increase “conservative.” We disagree.

Next year's proposal, including fee increases, would have University of Iowa students paying 8.7 percent more than this year. Iowa State University students would pay 5.2 percent more; University of Northern Iowa, 5.6 percent. All well above inflation.

That's too much to ask, when so many students and families are cutting back their budgets.

It would fairer and reasonable to keep any tuition increase, as student leaders have requested, no more than the rate of inflation.

Higher education is priceless in many ways, but it also must remain affordable.