Chronicle Editorial

Third-straight tuition freeze good, but questions loom

     The Iowa Board of Regents last week approved a tuition freeze at the state’s three tax-funded universities for the third year in a row. It was an unprecedented move that will no doubt help cash-strapped students, but questions exist as Iowa lawmakers and university officials plan for the future.

     The tuition freeze affects undergraduate students at Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa. It locks annual base tuition at around $6,650, which is quite competitive compared to costs at universities in some neighboring states. However, the decision isn’t a sure thing quite yet. Its fate rests in the hands of the state legislature, which must increase funding for the three schools by 1.75 percent to offset the freeze during the next General Assembly.

     The regents passed the measure unanimously, but it didn’t come without debate. Some board members fear three consecutive tuition freezes will force large hikes in the future to compensate for depleted revenue caused by stagnant admission rates. These concerns are warranted, but the board’s proposal wasn’t without stringent analysis to safeguard against such volatile increases that could hurt in-state students. They wouldn’t have passed the freeze if it wasn’t possible.

     Additional concerns were raised by officials at Northern Iowa. The regents have raised out-of-state tuition rates all three years to help offset decreased revenue caused by the freeze; however, Northern Iowa has significantly fewer of these students than Iowa or Iowa State. With a smaller out-of-state population to help absorb the blow, it strains funds further and creates a cloudy financial future for Northern Iowa. The school was forced to cut programs in the past and jeopardizing more would be ill-advised and quite frankly unfair.

     A reprieve could be coming down the pike for UNI, however. A new funding model was approved this summer that rewards universities with higher proportions of in-state undergraduate students. If you have more Iowa kids, you get more money. This has the potential to alleviate future budget issues while simultaneously increasing funding for Northern Iowa, which is certainly positive news for the smallest regent university in the state.

     None of this really matters if the legislature doesn’t approve the funding hike to offset the tuition freeze. The state has made great strides at keeping ballooning admission costs under control for Iowans in recent years, and it’s important to continue that progress. However, it’s implausible these prices will remain at their current rates forever. Nothing ever seems to get cheaper, and that certainly applies to higher education.

            Nonetheless, the third-straight tuition freeze is a good thing for in-state students seeking a post-secondary education at one of our three regent schools. Iowa college students already average around $30,000 of debt when they graduate, and digging that hole deeper with higher tuition doesn’t do anyone any favors. The legislature would be wise to pass the 1.75 funding increase to help pay for the freeze. If the state can afford it, there’s really no sense to hike up tuition. College is already expensive enough.