Regents propose $100 tuition increase for spring semester

IOWA CITY, Ia. — Resident undergraduate students at Iowa’s three public universities could see a $100 increase in their tuition bill for the second half of the 2015-16 school year.

The Iowa Board of Regents released a proposal Tuesday calling for a 3 percent tuition increase to go into effect for the spring 2016 semester. The increase would be the first-ever mid-year tuition hike and would thaw a freeze that has held resident tuition to the same amount for the past 21/2 years.

Under the proposal, full-time, resident undergraduate students at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would pay $100 more during the spring semester. The increase is expected to generate about $3.5 million, if applied to all three universities, for the second half of the FY 2016 academic year.

“This increase will assist the universities to manage inflationary expenses, now projected to average 1.9 percent, directing these revenues to support teaching and student needs,” the regents’ proposal states.

The board will discuss the proposal during its Aug. 5 telephonic meeting, and if approved, would require a second vote during Sept. 9 meeting in Cedar Falls.

Before this year’s legislative session began, the regents planned to freeze tuition for the full 2015-16 academic year, but that was dependent on the Iowa Legislature approving a requested increase of 4.3 percent ($21.7 million) for general university funding. Lawmakers and the governor, instead, approved only a 1.26 percent increase ($6.5 million), according to the proposal.

In June, Regent President Bruce Rastetter recommended that the board freeze tuition for the fall semester, but also asked the universities to provide information on whether they could afford to continue the freeze past December.

Earlier this month, officials at the three state universities said it was too early to know exactly what the impact of a mid-year tuition increase would be. The universities’ budgets won’t be approved until at least the Aug. 5 meeting, and the schools won’t know final enrollment numbers until early September.

If the $100 increase is approved, UI financial aid officials do not plan to undergo a wholesale repackaging of students’ financial aid plans, UI spokeswoman Jeneane Beck said Tuesday.

“However, students with concerns related to this small increase may have their concerns addressed on a case-by-case basis by each university,” the proposal states.

ISU financial aid officials said earlier this month that if the proposed increase had been more substantial — in the $500 range — then the school probably would have had to re-examine the financial aid packages for as many as 12,500 students.

An increase in the $100 range, however, fits within the miscellaneous expense category that universities use to calculate the average cost of attendance.

For UI, the proposal would increase baseline, full-time tuition for the spring 2016 semester from $3,339 to $3,439. Tuition at UNI and ISU would increase from $3,324 to $3,424 for the semester.

The increase would be prorated based on credit hour for part-time undergraduate resident, according to the proposal.

Reach Jeff Charis-Carlson at 319-887-5435 or jcharisc@press-citizen.com. Follow him @jeffcharis.