Nearly every year, the student governments of Iowa’s public universities attempt to broadcast the statistics and situation that students face with debt and financial aid. In light of the seriousness of the situation, the Board of Regents leadership has made the exploration of access and affordability to Iowa’s public universities a major initiative. This concern by the board is critical in going forward for future students. However, it will be most important to have a continual shared effort between the students, universities, the board, and the state legislature.

The board will form a new strategic plan by next summer, and Board President David Miles has shown a sharp sense of priorities in addressing both the financial health of universities and debt among students. As part of these initiatives, a comprehensive report was commissioned to explain how students pay for their education and to identify recommendations that provide an affordable education.

Part one of the report was released at last week’s meeting in Iowa City, and fell a bit under the radar. It is clear that while public higher education in Iowa remains strong, there are many opportunities for improvement.

This report analyzed the costs of attendance, ability to pay, and financial aid resources between 1997 and 2007. During this time period at Iowa State, tuition and fees rose by 119.1 percent and room and board by 76.7 percent, while the median Iowa household income only increased by 9.2 percent. Furthermore, Cyclone students had an average debt of $31,501 in 2007, compared to an average of $19,202 for public 4-year national institutions.

Why was this the case? General funding for education through state appropriations went from 64 percent in 2001 to less than 50 percent by 2005. In addition to this decrease in funding for general budgets, the work study program that helps students learn work ethic while reducing student debt went from receiving $631,579 in 1998 to just $26,374 in 2006. For four years between, the program received zero dollars of funding.

Another troubling statistic was the distribution of Iowa Grant money. The Iowa Grant makes yearly $1,000 grants available to students with financial need. Only 6.1 percent of this public money is going towards supporting students at Iowa’s public universities, with the remainder of money going towards Iowa’s private colleges and universities. Iowa’s peer states allocate a median of 68.9 percent to their students at public universities. The point has been made that Iowa has many more private institutions spread out throughout the state compared to peer states, but the discrepancy should not be this large.

It is clear that many people have become aware of this situation, as Iowa State stresses financial literacy and provides many resources through the Office of Financial Aid. In addition, Iowa State has increased undergraduate gift aid from 8.6 million in 1997 to 28.3 million by 2006. The state legislature has also made the important decision to slow student debt while promoting great programs through additional general funding and work-study appropriations as shown by the last two year’s sessions.

The students, universities, and the Board of Regents are very aware of the difficulties of access and affordability to education. It is important that the state legislature build upon the past couple years of success and take heed of this message through support of both the state university system and the students.

— Daniel Fischer is a senior in agricultural business from Neola. He is the president of the Government of the Student Body.

– Daniel Fischer is a senior in agricultural business from Neola. He is the president of the Government of the Student Body.