At least one member of the Iowa Board of Regents says the standard used for tuition increases for students at the three state universities won’t be enough in the 2010-2011 school year. The Regents use the midpoint of what’s call the Higher Education Price Index to set tuition and that would equate to a 2.7%, increase.
Regent Craig Lang of Brooklyn doesn’t think that’s nearly enough of an increase. Lang says, “Until the Revenue Estimating Conference comes out in October and makes its projection, I don’t want people to think I would support 2.7% because I think looking at everything in the past two years, it’s unreasonable to say that I wouldn’t ask for more than that from the student.”
Lang says people need to “reach into their pockets” and do more for public education. He says five to six percent may be the necessary figure to maintain the quality of higher education in the state. “The way I do things with my kids-if you know you’re paying $6,000, five percent is $300 more, and $300 more is less than a dollar a day. And I say to my kids and I’ve said this to parents who have asked me, ‘is it worth that university experience to pay a dollar a day more’, and they say well of course it is,” Lang says.
Regent President David Miles says he waiting for an October report from the state Revenue Estimating Council before he’ll have an opinion on tuition rates..