Oct. 29
Regents review 2010-11 tuition proposals
by Anne Krapfl
Undergraduate students from the state of Iowa would pay an additional $346 -- or a total of $6,102 -- in tuition next year under a proposal discussed Oct. 29 by the state Board of Regents. The board is expected to vote on the proposal at its Dec. 10 meeting in Ames.
As proposed, mandatory student fees at Iowa State -- which cover things like health insurance, student activities and computer support -- would remain at $895, the same as this year. Tuition and mandatory fees combined would cost $6,997 next year for undergraduate resident students.
President Gregory Geoffroy said Iowa State tuition is the second lowest among its group of peer universities and lower than most of the public research universities in states neighboring Iowa.
"By any comparison, we are low. Given the overall economic situation, we think a 6 percent increase is reasonable," he said to board members. Proposed tuition increases for all Iowa State students exceed 2.7 percent, which is the median of projected inflation rates in the Higher Education Price Index (HEPI). Board policy is to use the HEPI median as one guideline when it sets tuition rates.
Proposed for 2010-11:
| Tuition | Increase (%) | Tuition & fees | Increase (%) | ||
| In-state | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduates | $6,102 | 6.0 | $6,997 | 5.2 | |
| Graduates | $7,120 | 6.0 | $7,967 | 5.3 | |
| Out-of-state | |||||
| Undergraduates | $17,668 | 4.1 | $18,563 | 3.9 | |
| Graduates | $18,548 | 4.1 | $19,397 | 3.9 |
Business surcharge
Fall 2010 would be the second of a proposed three years of supplemental tuition (an additional $500 per year) for all undergraduate juniors and seniors in the College of Business. The board approved this schedule last December. The additional revenue would reduce the student-to-faculty ratio in the college and enhance leadership programs for students.
There are no other proposals for supplemental tuition at Iowa State next year.
More regents coverage
The state Board of Regents also approved Iowa State's plan to meet the mid-year budget reduction.
In other business, the regents:
- Gave Iowa State permission to begin planning a proposed 5,000-square-foot, $3 million student services mall in existing space on the ground floor, south wing, of Curtiss Hall. The proposed mall would consolidate in one location the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' student service units, including: welcome center, student services, study abroad, career services, diversity programs and the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative. The project will be funded by private gifts.
- Gave final approval to a $1.5 million building adjacent to the Vet Med college's new large animal hospital to be used to assess the health and gait of horses. This facility had been part of the phase 1 expansion plans at the college, but funding was not available at the time. It will include an unheated arena as well as boarding stalls, treatment rooms and several staff offices. The project will be funded by private gifts, federal stimulus funds and university funds. Construction should begin in February and conclude in September.
- Approved a name change for the music department, to department of music and theatre, in order to reflect a 1992 organizational change that moved the theater program and faculty from speech communication to music.
- Approved Iowa State's proposed name for the new basketball practice facility in west Ames: the Sukup Basketball Complex, in honor of the Sukup family of Sheffield, which gave a lead gift of $2 million for the $8 million facility.
