The folks who run the state-funded universities in Ames, Cedar Falls and Iowa City warn tuition will go up another three percent soon if lawmakers don’t provide more money for the institutions. When the Board of Regents set the tuition rate that kicks in this fall, the regents said they’d have to raise that rate if the Legislature didn’t provide an additional 40 million dollars for the universities’ “transformation” project. The presidents of Iowa, Iowa State and U-N-I, along with the leaders of the Board of Regents, issued a statement today, which some legislators are referring to as a threat. In it, the group said they are grateful to legislators for providing 22 million dollars more for the schools, but if the other 18 million dollars doesn’t come through, they’ll be “forced to turn to Iowa’s parents and students” to fill the gap. That three percent tuition increase would become effective for the semester that starts in January. The group of university officials suggested legislators tack on another 10-cents to the cigarette tax increase they’re considering and dedicate that extra tax revenue to the universities.
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