Junior and senior-level students in the College of Engineering could face increased tuition costs if a new differential tuition proposal is adopted.

The College of Engineering recently submitted a differential tuition proposal to the Office of the Provost and Office of the President for review. The new policy would charge junior and senior-level students an additional $250 in tuition per semester more than all other ISU undergraduates, said Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance.

The proposal must be submitted to and approved by the Board of Regents to take affect. If approved, increases would be applied beginning in the fall semester of 2006 and could gradually increase by up to $1,750 during the next three to five years, said Mark Kushner, dean for the College of Engineering.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, said charging engineering students more than others is justified because engineering graduates typically earn more than graduates in other majors.

According to the supplemental tuition report, the average starting salary range of an ISU engineering graduate ranges from $46,000 to $56,000, which is $2,000 to $5,000 above the national average of all engineering graduates.

“You are going to make more, so it stands the reason you should pay more,” Hill said. “Like most things, you pay for what you get and if you look at a student in the College of Engineering, they are looking at a higher starting salary than most.”

According to the report, the differential costs associated with the College of Engineering are $14 million higher than fields such as English, history or mathematics. Full implementation of $1,750 in differential tuition would yield approximately $4.3 million per year.

Kushner said the cost of educating engineering students is greater than other academic programs because higher faculty salaries and the increased costs of laboratory equipment. In terms of the average engineer’s salary, the increase is relatively low, he said.

“In the worst of all conditions, the differential tuition surcharge would be the equivalent of three weeks of salary,” Kushner said. “So three weeks of salary gains you a better quality undergraduate education and adds to your lifetime earning potential.”

Differential tuition at Iowa State would be unnecessary if there were adequate state funds, he said.

“I don’t think we would be here now if the support for state universities in general hadn’t been decreasing over the years,” Kushner said. “This is a business that is not unlike any other business – if you have fewer dollars coming in the front door and you have dollars going out the back door, you have a problem.”

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy said although no final decision has been made on the differential tuition policy, more funding is needed.

“It is very clear from nationwide data that the cost of educating students in the College of Engineering is higher than other students,” he said. “There are pros and cons and we have not made a decision on that, but it is being given very serious examination.”

Faculty Senate President Claudia Baldwin, associate professor for veterinary clinical sciences, said the increased revenue from differential tuition would help recruit and retain more faculty.

“Increasing tuition should increase the base dollars needed to hire more faculty,” she said. “If we can hire more faculty, we can do better at recruiting more students.”

Kushner said many of the funds from the potential tuition increase would be used to hire more faculty.

“We presently have about 220 faculty. The amount of the surcharge could potentially increase the faculty by about 35, or it could be 25 faculty and another 100 teaching assistants,” he said.

Part of the revenues will go to student aid, Kushner said.

At least 15 percent of the additional tuition revenue would be set aside for additional financial aid programs, although the proportion is not finalized, Madden said.

The costs for the College of Engineering are presently subsidized by lower-cost academic programs, Kushner said.