Mike Richards. (screenshot from meeting)

The board that governs the three state universities gave final approval of the proposed tuition and fee increases for the three state universities at their meeting Wednesday in Cedar Falls.

Board of Regents president, Mike Richards, says the increase is needed after the state funding did not increase this year.
“We still need financial resources to provide a quality education for our students. We always try to find the right balance to provide those resources, while keeping the cost to the students and their families as affordable as possible,” Richards says.

Richards says the schools have done a good job of cutting the administrative costs, but that is not enough to meet other increasing costs of operation. “Our goal is to provide quality, affordable, and accessible education,” he says.

The increase for base undergraduate residents is $283 at the University of Iowa, $282 at Iowa State University, and $115 at the University of Northern Iowa. The Regents also approved a $53 mandatory fee increase for the U-I and ISU, and no increase in fees at UNI.