The State Board of Regents will hear a recommendation for a tuition increase that’s below the double-digit increases approved in recent years when it meets next week in Iowa City. Gregory Nichols is the executive secretary of the organization that runs the three state universities. Nichols says the increase for resident Iowans will amount to about one dollar a day. He says it’ll be about a 360 dollar increase, which along with fees works out to about eight percent. Tuition increase recommended for out-of-state students is 720 dollars, or about double that of in-state students. The double-digit increases in tuition came as the state fell into financial trouble and cut funding to the universities. Nichols says they hope the cutting won’t continue. He says they’re hoping the “more moderate increase in tuition” will go along with a moderate increase in state support. Nichols says the Regents are gong to push hard to get the increase in state funding. He says the number one priority of the Regents is to get the state to fully fund pay increases. State officials already have said their budget estimates were off and Nichols says there’s no guarantee the Regent schools will see an increase in funding, but he says they have to set the new tuition rates by November. He says no matter what you do, you take a risk, because you don’t know what the state budget will eventually look like. The Board of Regents will hear the tuition increase proposal at their meeting next week in Iowa City. They’ll take vote on the proposed increase at the November meeting.
