IOWA CITY – The Iowa Board of Regents discussed tuition hikes for the upcoming school year during its Thursday meeting.

Last month, ISU administrators submitted a 4 percent undergraduate and graduate student tuition increase to the Regents. Resident undergraduate tuition and fees would rise by more than $200 – more than $600 for nonresidents.

Final tuition hikes for 2006-07 will be decided by the Board during its meeting Dec. 6 at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

The 4 percent increase correlates within the Regents Partnership Plan for Transformation and Excellence, which aims to maintain increases within inflation.

Iowa City Regent Robert Downer said he is confident about each university’s tuition proposal.

“I think the Regents and the universities have upheld their end of the bargain on this,” he said. “In the ’05 session, the Legislature and the governor upheld theirs, so I think everything is going forward smoothly at this point.”

Despite his general optimism, Downer said he is apprehensive about the future support of some programs funded with one-time sources.

“I am concerned that with the number of one-time sources of the money that were tapped into at the end of the ’05 session that this is going to be a major challenge to continue this,” he said.

The Higher Education Price Index – the Regents’ basis for tuition rates – forecasts nationwide increases between 3.4 and 4.5 percent for the 2006-07 school year.

Mary Ellen Becker, regent from Oskaloosa, said the state’s support of the partnership plan is crucial toward minimizing students’ financial burden.

“We have no other sources to help us with the academic enterprise other than student fees and tuition and state dollars,” she said. “Those state dollars are so critical to us for maintaining high quality education in the state.”

Some engineering undergraduates could see their tuition spike even further.

Junior- and senior-level engineering resident undergraduates could face a 12.2 percent increase – more than $700 – while nonresident engineers would pay 7 percent more – more than $1,100.

Downer said the board should carefully consider differential tuition surcharges.

“I want to be sure this is thought through and that we don’t end up with a lot of unintended consequences with this,” he said. “Where we are doing something that is precedent-setting, I just want to be sure everybody’s eyes are open and we know where we are going.

“This was well thought out and carefully applied with a lot of student input and I think this is an appropriate move for the Regents institutions.”

Angela Groh, Government of the Student Body president, said students support the surcharge.

“As a whole, Iowa State students, in my communications with them, seem to be supportive of the differential tuition concept,” said Groh, senior in political science.

Rokes said she supports the engineering surcharge because it has student support.

“I am in support of this – it just makes me nervous of what this will lead to in the future,” she said. “The students are in support of it, so you can’t ask for anything else past that.”

Rokes said she believes the engineering surcharge would not lead to widespread tuition differentiation among undergraduate programs.

“I don’t think this is going to blow up into some huge thing – at least I hope not,” she said.

Professional students enrolled in the College of Veterinary Medicine could experience the steepest tuition increases on campus, as rates would rise by 12 percent for resident students and 16 percent for nonresidents.

Undergraduate tuition at Iowa State ranks ninth among its 11 nationwide peer land-grant institutions – an average of 19 percent less than its peers.