While proposed tuition increases by the State Board of Regents have historically generated protests from students at the state-run universities — that wasn’t the case today when the board met in Iowa City.
The regents discussed increases ranging from four to five-point-five percent today under new rules that allow the presidents of Iowa State, Iowa and Northern Iowa to offer individual proposals for tuition.
University of Iowa student government president Mark Kresowik says the students can live with the proposed increases. He says when you look at the level of historical funding to the universities from the state and the nation, and the history of much bigger tuition increases in the last five years than this year, “Looking at what the money will go toward, I think it will improve the quality of the universities, and I think it’s necessary quite frankly.”
Kresowik says students understand that everyone has to do their part. He says there have been huge budget cuts from the state in the last five years and federal student aid has been cut. He says the support isn’t coming from the state or federal sources right now, so it has to come from the students.
Kresowik is a senior from Iowa City and doesn’t believe the increase will cause many students to have to leave school. He says the four-point-five percent increase is “not too bad” and he doesn’t think it will price them out of the market. He says students are just happy the increase is not over 18-percent like it has been in the past.
Joe Murphy is the president of the student body at U-N-I.
He says no student is ecstatic over any decision to increase tuition and fees, but he says they are pleased that the leaders are U-N-I and the regents are keeping the increase within the Higher Education Price Index.
The proposed increases are four-percent for tuition and fees at I-S-U, four-point-five percent at the U-of-I and a five-point-five percent increase at U-N-I.