The board that governs the three state universities voted today to approve a $100 surcharge on students to make up for the state budget cut. Board of Regents president, David Miles, made a few comments before the vote.
“As we noted at the last meeting when this was first discussed, this is certainly nothing I believe that any regent favors,” Miles said. He says it will be an additional burden on the students, but says they have had good dialogue with student leaders about the surcharge. Miles says the surcharge is part of the overall effort to meet the budget cuts.
“We believe that the sacrifice has been, continues to be, and will be shared across all elements of the institutions, And in the scope of things, as I have said before, I believe this is a regrettable, but reasonable sacrifice,” Miles says. None of the other regents made any comments before the vote.
The vote was 6-3 in favor of the surcharge. Regents Ruth Harkin, Michael Gartner, and student regent Gretta Johnson of Le Mars voted no. The surcharge is expected to generate nearly six-million-dollars and is equivalent to 10-percent of the money cut by the state. The surcharge will only be applicable to Iowa, Iowa State and U.N.I. students enrolled during the spring term and would be prorated for part-time students based on the number of credit hours taken.
Regents staff say they expect the impact of the surcharge on enrollment to be minimal.