Des Moines Register
05-20-06
Students could pay extra $200 for college next year
The fee would be charged only for 2006-07; public universities would use the
money for salary increases and other items.
By ERIN JORDAN
REGISTER IOWA CITY BUREAU
A $200 surcharge proposed for students at Iowa's three public universities is an
unusual way to make up for lower-than-expected state appropriations, an
education policy expert said.
"The surcharge is not highly common," said Travis Reindl, director of state policy
analysis for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in
Washington, D.C. "They are usually implemented in more of your emergency
situations."
The Iowa Board of Regents on Friday announced it will consider a proposal to
charge students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University
of Northern Iowa an energy/environment surcharge that would pay for higher
energy costs, salary increases, deferred maintenance on buildings and library
acquisitions. The board will vote on the proposal at its June 20 meeting in Ames.
The $100-per-semester surcharge is expected to raise nearly $11 million for the
universities, which had a combined enrollment of about 67,000 last fall.
"Personally, I don't like it," said Bo Cheng, 27, a U of I graduate student in
molecular biology. "I think the state government needs to find the money from
somewhere else, not from the students."
Legislators blasted the surcharge, saying the universities should scale back their
budgets.
"I don't see those institutions cutting back. They just come back asking for more
and more," said Sen. Mark Zieman, a Postville Republican who is co-chairman of
the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Senate Democratic Leader Michael Gronstal said the universities have not
upheld their end of a deal to hold down tuition in exchange for adequate state
funding. "I feel that Senate Democrats have done our part to keep faith with the
deal they offered us three years ago," he said.
The regents asked the Iowa Legislature to increase university funding by $40
million a year in exchange for the schools reallocating money within their
institutions and keeping tuition increases for in-state students in line with inflation.
Regents approved in December tuition increases ranging from 4 percent to 5.5
percent.
The Legislature increased the universities' funding by only $11 million for general
operating expenses for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The universities also
received $9 million in one-time funding, and another $20 million for economic
development projects on the campuses.
"We have a lot to be grateful for with increased funding," said U of I President
David Skorton.
However, the new money amounts to less than a 2 percent increase, which does
not allow his university to meet its goals, said Skorton, who earlier this year
announced his resignation to become president at Cornell University in New
York.
"You can't expect the strongest teachers and researchers to work for some of the
lowest salaries in their peer group," he said.
University leaders and board staff chose a surcharge instead of a tuition increase
because it is a one-time payment, Skorton said. In exchange for the surcharge,
the universities would agree to a three-year moratorium on requests for state
money for new buildings. Five major projects are excluded from the moratorium
because they are already under way.
Several students said the $100-per-semester surcharge isn't much when
compared to the thousands they pay in tuition. "We're already paying so much
that another $100 is not a big deal," said Seth Chamberlain, 21, an ISU senior
from Edina, Minn.
Other students said they resent the charge. "I have enough racked up in student
loans," said Brianna Kuhlers, a UNI senior from Muscatine. "It's (the university's)
fault they're short, so they should find a way to fix it without taking my money."
Register Staff Writers William Petroski, Lisa Rossi and Jenna Johnson
contributed to this article.