Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

February 20, 2004

Regents hope to change timing of tuition deliberations; Morrill Hall project remains on track

by Anne Krapfl
The Morrill Hall renovation project received the green light for further planning, and a first step was taken toward changing the time of year tuition and fees are finalized during the Board of Regents, State of Iowa meeting Feb. 19 in Iowa City. The board also approved Iowa State's revised operating budget for FY04.

Iowa State representatives presented a general design plan for renovating Morrill Hall, including which tenants would occupy each of the four levels, and what major physical improvements or replacements are planned for the building. The proposed tenants will be the Center for Teaching Excellence, University Museums' Christian Petersen Art Museum and the Center for Visual Learning in Textiles and Clothing.

The board also agreed the project met its "capital project criteria," a fairly new step the board mandates for building projects in the face of shrinking building funds from the state.

The next step in the process is to more finely develop the design and submit that to the regents. Private fund raising also continues; about $3 million still is needed to reach the $9 million goal.

Tuition timeline
The board approved a recommendation to change the timing of its annual tuition and fees decision. This will require a change in the state code, but HF 2140 has been introduced in the Iowa Legislature to start the legal process. Current state law requires the regents to set tuition and fees by November for the following fall. The proposal would change the deadline to March, with tuition discussions probably held in December and February. However, board members said their preference is to eliminate a statutory deadline for setting tuition. The intent of the change is to give regents a later look at what state support for higher education might be for the following year before they have to set tuition rates.

The regents discussed proposed changes to the tuition set-aside program (tuition dollars used for student financial aid), but didn't approve any changes. One proposal would require schools to use at least 50 percent of the set-aside funds for undergraduate students. Within that 50 percent, at least 50 percent would be awarded to Iowa resident students and at least 50 percent would be awarded based on financial need. Another proposal would allow universities to set aside an additional 10 percent of tuition revenues to achieve strategic enrollment goals. As proposed, these dollars wouldn't be subject to the same proposed restrictions on the current 15 percent minimum set-aside pool. The board asked regents staff and the regents universities to evaluate the cost and benefits of a study on unmet financial need in Iowa and report back to the board.

Lean budget
President Gregory Geoffroy told the regents that Iowa State's revised budget for FY04, which reflects a mid-year reversion in state support, is nearly the same as it was in FY97. At the same time, Iowa State is serving almost 2,500 more students, but with fewer faculty and staff. He noted that the latest cuts have either eliminated or changed to another funding source 33 faculty, 42 staff and 30 graduate assistant positions at the university.

"What's most concerning is that we're moving further away from the state support for higher education we've known in the past," he said.

A decade ago, Geoffroy said that state funding accounted for 44 percent of Iowa State's total budget. Today, state appropriations support 28 percent of the total budget.

In a related action, the board approved a resolution that asks elected state officials to "reinvest in public higher education by increasing funding to protect Iowa students and their families from the harmful effects of inadequate funding" and "avoid further deterioration in the quality of " the regent institutions.

In other business, the regents approved a request and financing proposal for the WOI Radio Group to purchase the KIIC-FM commercial radio station in Osceola and operate it as a repeater FM station within its network of stations. KIIC serves all or parts of eight southern Iowa counties. WOI officials still are negotiating a sale price for the station, which is in receivership. The sale process will take up to six months and require approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

WOI's proposal is that the station license, approximately $270,000, will be financed by the board's Master Lease financing for up to five years. Private fund-raising would pay back the cost. The physical assets of the station (e.g. tower, transmitter, studio equipment) would be purchased by a national public radio capitals holding company and leased back to WOI, with an option to purchase in the future.

The regents' next meeting is March 10 on the Drake University campus in Des Moines.