The presidents of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa say tuition hikes are necessary for the fall semester because legislators didn’t provide as much state taxpayer support as the schools requested.
“We only got 27 percent of what we needed from the state,” said Iowa State University president Steven Leath.
Leath addressed the Board of Regents this morning over a recommended $300 per student increase in fall tuition rates at Iowa, Iowa State and UNI for Iowa residents.
“High enrollment…graduation numbers really, really are exciting, but it’s a lot of what’s driving this request we had for an increase in tuition,” Leath said.
University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld said failing to increase tuition rates now will be “damaging to students in the long run” because it’s become increasingly difficult to hire and keep faculty.
“In order to achieve and deliver on our promise that we make to our students about receiving a world class education, we must have world class faculty to deliver it,” Harreld said. “…This competition for the best and brightest does, however, cost money and as I’ve been saying since day one when I took this job, we are being raided for talent because we do not have enough resources to compete for the best and the brightest.”
Tuition at the University of Iowa is “under-priced” today, according to Harreld.
“The value of the degree is based on the excellence of the University of Iowa not just today, but over the long-term,” Harreld said. “If we continue down this path of being the cheapest university in our peer group, then obtaining a world class education will require Iowans, frankly, to go out of Iowa and pay non-resident tuition to institutions like Michigan, Texas or Wisconsin and I believe that would be a very bad mistake.”
More significant tuition rate hikes for out-of-state students at all three state universities have been proposed. University of Iowa officials are asking for even larger tuition increases for students in upper level business and engineering courses.
The president of the University of Northern Iowa also addressed the Board of Regents this morning, but Bill Ruud did not mention the proposed fall semester tuition increase. Ruud announced late last month that he’s leaving UNI to become president of a small private college in Ohio on July 1st.
The nine members of the Board of Regents are scheduled to consider the proposed tuition rate hikes later this afternoon. A final decision will be made at the board’s July meeting.
AUDIO of Leath, then Harreld, then Ruud speaking to Board of Regents, 31:45