UI The Daily Iowan
11-29-07
Tuition hike low for in-state
Ben Fornell - The Daily Iowan
The state Board of Regents is set to approve the lowest tuition increase for Iowa
residents in nearly 30 years, while hitting UI nonresidents with an increase that is
almost triple that of other Iowa public universities.
The increases for fall semester 2008 are a far cry from the double-digit hikes
earlier this decade. The proposed 6 percent swell for out-of-state undergraduates
at the UI stands in contrast to increases of 2.5 percent and 2.2 percent at Iowa
State University and the University of Northern Iowa, respectively.
The out-of-state hike for UI undergraduates is $1,114, while only $172 for their
in-state cohorts.
For in-state students, "the regents and the Legislature are quite cognizant of the
cost," Regents' President Michael Gartner said. "Out-of-state is more of a market
factor. There's a real demand from out-of-state students to go to the University of
Iowa."
The UI has much higher percentages of out-of-state students than either UNI or
ISU, he said.
"There's more demand, so you can raise tuition more," he said.
With the regents giving overwhelming approval for the increases and praise for
the Legislature for the appropriations that made them possible, the tuition hikes
are expected to pass. Gartner said he expected the vote to be a "formality."
The 3.2 percent rise for in-state tuition is pegged to the Higher Education Price
Index - similar to the Consumer Price Index, but used to track changes in the
cost of living for college students.
At the regents' October meeting, a move to raise rates by only 2 percent was
defeated 5-3, with many of the regents voicing their satisfaction with a 3.2
percent rise.
UI business students and faculty have asked for a $1,500 tuition jump across the
board, representing a roughly 27-percent increase for in-state students.
Crediting the low in-state rates to a generous appropriation from the state
Legislature, UI President Sally Mason said in an earlier interview that out-of-state
students should bear the full cost of their education.
UI Vice Provost Thomas Rocklin has said out-of-state students should not benefit
from the tax revenues of Iowans. He said the UI is justified in charging higher
out-of-state rates than ISU and UNI because of the demand of such students to
study at the UI.
The projected UI percentage increases are the same for both undergraduate and
graduate students, while tuition for upper-division engineering students is
projected to rise 11 percent and 8.6 percent for in-state and out-of-state students
respectively.
E-mail DI reporter Ben Fornell at:
benjamin-fornell@uiowa.edu