As Iowa State considers a new differential tuition policy for the College of Engineering, one peer institution has been functioning under a similar for the past 13 years.

Thomas Wolff, Michigan State University College of Engineering associate dean for undergraduate studies, said the MSU College of Engineering has had a differential tuition policy similar to the one proposed at Iowa State since the 1992-93 school year.

MSU upper-division engineering students – juniors and seniors – pay an additional $410 per semester. In addition, all upper-division undergraduates must pay an additional $25.50 per credit hour. An upper-division engineering student taking 15 credits pays nearly $800 more per semester than their lower-division counterparts.

Wolff said Michigan State’s differential tuition policy has not affected enrollment.

“Enrollment really is independent of this. It goes up and down in cycles,” he said.

According to the ISU College of Engineering proposal, Iowa State’s differential tuition policy would fund additional tenure-track faculty and increase faculty salaries to help lower the college’s student-to-faculty ratio. Although Iowa State’s College of Engineering averages 21.7 students per faculty member, the average among Iowa State’s 11 peer universities is 17.2 to 1.

A peer university is a similar-sized land-grant university of science and technology.

ISU Provost Benjamin Allen said the College of Engineering’s student-faculty ratio must improve.

“Right now, we are above average, which is not good in terms of the faculty to student ratio,” he said.

Although Michigan State’s engineering student-to-faculty ratio is 24 students per faculty member, Wolff said the additional tuition revenues fund student-focused programs and equipment.

“It has basically ensured that our equipment and facilities remain up to date. It gives us no reason to say funds are tight at the university so we cannot replace equipment,” he said. “It has to serve students – some goes to equipment, some goes to teaching assistants, some goes to student labor.”

Stuart Kaltz, junior in material sciences engineering at Michigan State, said he does not mind the additional engineering charges.

“I’ve never heard anybody really complain about it; I don’t think anybody has made a big deal about it,” he said.

Kaltz said the greatest benefit students have from the surcharge are the engineering-specific computer labs.

Michigan State also charges an additional $200 to business students and $100 to health science and technology-intensive majors.

Besides the engineering college, no differential tuition proposal has been submitted to administrators by other colleges at Iowa State, although Allen said the College of Business could benefit from a differential tuition policy.

“Most likely business would be next, if the College of Business would like to pursue it,” he said.

Allen said additional tuition charged would be offset by the higher average starting salaries of engineering graduates.

Wolff agreed that increased engineering salaries justify the increased tuition.

“A student in engineering coming out of school is going to make something on the order of $50,000 per year and have a long career,” he said.

Wolff said the additional costs of an engineering education should not deter students from pursuing the field.

“You are not going to make your decision based on $800 more per year,” he said. “[A total of] $1,600 to $2,400 shouldn’t be the deal breaker; the deal breaker should be if engineering is good for you.”

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