Tuition increases and a new chemistry building will be among the topics discussed by the Iowa Board of Regents during its next meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Iowa City.

ISU administrators proposed a 4 percent undergraduate and graduate student tuition increase for the 2006-07 school year. In addition, the Colleges of Engineering at Iowa State and the University of Iowa proposed an additional tuition increment increase of $500 per undergraduate student per academic year – a cumulative increase of more than 14 percent for Iowa residents and more than 7 percent for nonresident students.

The College of Veterinary Medicine also requested a 16 percent tuition increase for residents and 12 percent for nonresidents. The increases would raise resident tuition by nearly $2,000 and nonresident tuition by more than $3,600 per year.

Gary Steinke, acting executive director for the Board of Regents, said professional program tuition is more market-driven than undergraduate charges.

“Professional schools always charge what the market bears for a professional school,” he said. “The programs are just more expensive and people are happy to pay them.”

ISU Provost Benjamin Allen on Wednesday will present a proposal to construct a new 100,000 square foot chemical sciences building at a cost of $87 million. State appropriations would fund $69.5 million of the project, with the remaining $17.5 million coming from private donors.

Allen said he has been given the opportunity to present the $87 million request, although he lacks optimism for its support.

“Am I optimistic? No,” he said. “This project is huge; I’d be surprised if we get this accepted as stated. We have to give it a try and see what happens.”

Steinke said although universities may request new facility construction, there is no guarantee for fulfillment.

“I don’t know that the presidents’ requests for the new buildings are going to be met by the legislature,” he said.

Keith Woo, department of chemistry associate chairman, said Gilman Hall needs renovation and expansion to improve academic strength.

“It turns out that the chemistry building is not in very good shape,” he said. “Our ranking nationally is deteriorating and in order for us to compete for top students and faculty, we really need to have a better facility.”

Woo said faculty salary increases are not enough to improve the strength of chemistry programs at Iowa State.

“If the building can’t sustain the research and teaching efforts, giving raises only addresses a small part of the problem,” he said.

More than 40 degree programs, including engineering, agriculture and biotechnology, require chemistry coursework, Woo said.

“It really is an issue where a new building doesn’t just serve chemistry, it serves the entire mission of the university,” he said.

Should the project not attract support from the Board, Woo said academic quality overall would diminish.

“We will lose some of our best faculty; we will lose top students – the impact to the teaching and research mission of the university will degrade,” he said.

The Regents will decide on Wednesday the final construction budgets for a $48 million addition to the College of Veterinary Medicine teaching hospital, a new $9.5 million Alumni Center and a $20.8 million renovation of the Memorial Union.