Iowa Board of Regents President David Miles addressed the Government of the Student Body on Wednesday night.

It was the first time he had been invited to speak to a student government group during his four years as president.

Miles explained to the GSB how the Iowa Regents work.

“The Board was created 102 years ago as a governing body for five institutions … we simultaneously meet as a board of trustees for the Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, and we’re roughly a $4 billion enterprise,” Miles said.

Miles said there are nine citizen volunteers appointed by the governor who rotate out three at a time, with six-year terms.

Three new Regents have been appointed by the governor this year and were interviewed by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. The Senate is expected to vote on the governors appointments soon.

Miles said all of the regents are equal; however, the Regents from among themselves elect a president.

The Board cannot have more than five members from one political party and no more than five men or five women serving at a time.

“This creates a non-partisan body that focuses on the needs of students and quality education in Iowa,” Miles said.

Miles said the Regents stand first and foremost for the education of students.

“Iowa is blessed by two American Institution Universities. The universities are in the top 65 research institutions in North America … Iowa State and Iowa are both AAU institutions and something we are very proud of,” Miles said.

He said appropriations from the legislature is an important issue this year.

“The major sources of funding for educating students are state appropriations and tuition,” Miles said. “There is inevitably a relationship between the two.”

He said in higher enrollment has helped offset the cost of lower appropriations from the state legislature.

Halley Stille, speaker of the GSB Senate, asked how she could best explain to her constituents why tuition continues going up.

“I think the simplest way to describe it is that while the universities have worked hard to decrease costs, and have done a pretty effective job, due to the financial crisis of the last couple of years the state appropriations have been lower,” Miles said.

He said tuition would have to increase by about 15 percent to cover the state appropriations budget the Board is expecting next year.

“We’re just trying to fill the hole. It won’t fill the hole, but it will help make a dent,” Miles said.

Jessica Bruning, director of ISU Ambassadors, said students are seeing the quality of education decreasing.

“We are losing faculty not because of layoffs but because they don’t want to work at the university any more … I’m on a waiting list for a class I need to take to graduate … and we’re talking about record enrollments. Are the universities prepared to handle that?” Bruning said.

Miles said he thinks the university can handle the additional enrollments.

“I understand there was a global financial crisis, but when resources are cut away that quickly and that dramatically students end up paying much higher tuitions, and you end up paying because it does damage to the immediate quality of the institution,” Miles said.

Miles said students do end up paying more and getting less.

“I’m not very uplifting tonight, am I?” Miles asked. “We have not broken down this university but it is under stress and I think you feel it. I’m hopeful by the time the legislature goes home we will be close to flat funding.”

Miles was questioned about why Iowa State has some of the highest debt in the nation if they have one of the lowest tuitions of its peer group.

Miles said the Board hasn’t been able to answer the question, but he has been told that in other states parents end up taking out more loans than students, which are not factored into the student’s debt load.

He said the majority of states have grant programs, similar to Pell Grants, that are state funded.

Iowa’s grants are only given to independent institutions, not public universities.

“It’s frustrating to me. I don’t know why or how Iowa State’s student debt is as high as it is,” Miles said.