Iowa City Press-Citizen, IA
05-05-06
Mid-year tuition rise discussed
Regents not immediately sold on idea
By Gregg Hennigan
Iowa City Press-Citizen
CEDAR FALLS -- The possibility of a mid-year tuition hike at the state's three
public universities was raised at the Iowa state Board of Regents meeting
Thursday, but regents later indicated such a move would not be taken.
The issue was broached as faculty and staff representatives made presentations
to the board on the need to increase their salaries or risk losing ground, and
employees, to peer institutions.
"We must make more progress, and now that the Legislature is out, we know that
we cannot do so without higher tuition than any of us would like," Katherine
Tachau, a UI history professor, told the regents at their meeting in Cedar Falls.
The Legislature included in its budget $11 million in new funding to UI, Iowa
State University and the University of Northern Iowa rather than the $40 million
asked for. It also renewed a $9 million one-time appropriation from last year.
Money for salaries will have to be found elsewhere without more state money,
officials said.
"To some extent, perhaps the parents and students need to help us out as well,"
UI President David Skorton told the board.
ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said a tuition increase or surcharge should be
considered.
But Regents President Michael Gartner said later that he did not think mid-year
tuition increases were the topic of discussion in the meeting.
And UI Student Government President Peter McElligott said he was told by the
regents that they were committed to keeping tuition levels stable during the
school year.
"After our lunch with the regents, they really made their point that they're
committed to this (tuition) stability," he said.
The regents asked the board office and the universities to prepare a report for
the regents' June meeting on finding more revenue sources.
At issue is the level of state funding the regent universities receive from the
Legislature as part of their "transformation plan."
Under the plan, the schools agreed to keep tuition increases at the rate of
inflation in exchange for an extra $40 million in state funding annually for four
years and the internal reallocation of half that total. The plan, which is in its
second year, is not guaranteed.
For the upcoming school year, tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate
students at the three schools will increase between 4 percent and 5.5 percent,
including 4.5 percent at UI.
The plan is also critical to increasing faculty salaries, an issue UI Provost Michael
Hogan has said is his top priority. After a 5.4 percent increase in average salaries
in the past year, UI believes it ranks seventh out of 10 public schools in the Big
Ten in faculty pay.
ISU officials said its salaries are at the bottom of their peer group.
Skorton said after the meeting that he appreciated the amount of state money the
universities received, but that something would have to be done to be able to
address faculty pay, rising energy prices and deferred maintenance.
He noted that the idea of a mid-year tuition increase was also discussed a year
ago after funding shortfalls but ultimately was abandoned. He said he would
need a few days before he could assess what the best options for UI were this
year.
"Sitting here today, I can't tell you how we're going to make it up to get to the
bottom line," Skorton said.