Members of the Iowa Board of Regents fear that the temporary energy surcharge approved for this year may cost students next year, as well.

The Regents approved the $100 per semester surcharge this summer to combat high energy costs and also keep libraries at the Regents institutions current.

Regents President Michael Gartner said the board will re-evaluate the surcharge next year and – if high energy costs persist – the board may decide to implement the surcharge again.

“There’s no certainty these charges won’t be brought back next year,” Gartner said. “The only certainty is we’ll revisit the issue.”

He said, however, the board didn’t build the surcharge into the permanent budget, so it can be easily removed if the board determines it’s unnecessary.

Regents Executive Director Gary Steinke said low state funding played a role in the board’s decision to implement the surcharge.

The Regents asked the Legislature for $40 million, but the board was allocated closer to $11 million in permanent funding, according to the Transformation Plan for Excellence, a legislative package designed to adequately fund Iowa’s Regents institutions.

“The state appropriations weren’t even close to what the Transformation Plan asks for,” Steinke said. “So, unfortunately, there’s only one place to go. The only other source of revenue is tuition.”

The Regents expect the surcharge to create $4.33 million in new revenue for Iowa State, almost $3 million of which will go toward fuel and utility costs. A smaller portion will go toward library acquisitions.

Steinke said all full-time students will have to pay $100 per semester, while part-time students will pay proportionally less depending on credit hours of class work.

Gartner said the board considered other options to combat energy costs, but the surcharge was most palatable to students.

“We could have raised tuition, cut operating money, eliminated classes or cut salaries,” he said. “We had a choice to cut into the core of the educational mission or find a new source of revenue.”

Other resources:

From ISD: Surcharges approved by Regents for utilities