The state of Iowa no longer values education.

By The Northern Iowan

----

We realize that's a very bold, general statement, but a look at the Iowa Legislature's support for higher education contradicts its verbal commitment to educating its residents.

Legislators from both sides of the aisle passed $23.5 million in cuts to the University of Northern Iowa over the past four years, and the Iowa House is looking to slash an additional $3 million from UNI's budget.

As a result of these cuts, students bear the majority of the cost of their education, with tuition dollars making up 52.3 percent of UNI's general fund this year, according to a report from the state Board of Regents. In 1998, the state covered 71.2 percent of the general fund, helping keep tuition at a low $2,566 for in-state undergraduate students, according to UNI's Fact Book.

The cost of tuition for an in-state undergraduate student at UNI is now almost $1,000 more than it was four years ago. In that same time, state appropriations per student have declined by more than $2,000.

Students didn't take the full force of these vicious cuts, however. The university cut more than $9 million in expenses over the past four years by reducing faculty and staff positions, merging colleges and departments, cutting baseball and reducing support to auxiliaries. These cuts from the state ultimately motivated the recent academic program cuts and the closure of Price Lab, the University Museum and Print Services.

What's more, the House Appropriations Committee voted Wednesday to freeze tuition, which, if it passes through the Legislature, could effectively prevent the university from even matching higher education inflation costs, let alone making up the

$3 million cut the committee also approved.

Proponents of the tuition freeze claim the measure is to help maintain the affordability of Iowa's public universities. Yet at the same time, cuts from the Legislature have forced tuition increases above inflation for the past three years, including a 6 percent tuition increase for the 2010-11 academic year.

Moreover, while the freeze may save students some money (the 3.75 percent tuition increase approved by the Board of Regents amounts to roughly $240 for in-state undergraduates), it will force more drastic cuts, reducing the quality of a UNI education.

Where else can the university cut? What other inefficiencies are there to find? Do we cut athletics at the risk of losing NCAA Division I certification, which could decrease our revenue, exposure and enrollment? Do we cut administrative positions? Where? Do we cut more programs? How many more programs can we cut before we cease to be a true liberal arts institution? Or do these most recent cuts already bring us beyond that point?

At what point can we say the state of Iowa no longer values education? Right now, its centers of learning - where its future leaders, educators, scientists, accountants, engineers, artists, scholars and doctors are taught - are being gutted by lawmakers, and students are forced to bear the burden. Right now, the state is facing a growing surplus, and yet it continues to consider further cuts to the biggest possible investment in its future: the education of its residents.

Right now, the state of Iowa doesn't value education. And for the sake of its future, we hope that changes, and soon, before it's too late.

The Northern Iowan is the student-produced newspaper at the University of Northern Iowa. Comments (to John Anderson, executive editor): anderjao@uni.edu