Iowa State will help nearly 550 undergraduate resident students pay for their tuition this fall through a program called ISU Grant.

The grant money will help cover the money needed to pay for tuition and other fees after all of a students’ aid has been awarded.

“With the rising cost of tuition, the Pell Grant hasn’t quite kept pace,” said Darin Wohlgemuth, program coordinator for ISU enrollment services. “We’ve been able to use institutional dollars to help students cover their tuition costs.”

Wohlgemuth helped to construct the ISU Grant program about two years ago. In-state tuition has more than doubled in the past decade, from $2,291 in 1994-95, to $4,702 for 2004-05. Where the Pell Grant would have covered tuition and fees in 2001, there is now a hefty shortage in 2004.

Mark Harding, director of admissions, said he is pleased that Iowa State is able to help so many students this year.

“I’m delighted to be at a university that recognizes the students with financial need, especially a land-grant university like Iowa State,” Harding said. “One of the primary missions of a land-grant university is to serve the people of Iowa, and we are doing just that with this program.”

The University of Northern Iowa has recently proposed a similar plan for its institution beginning this fall. Called the Tuition Opportunity Plan, it was created for use similar to the ISU Grant.

Roland Carrillo, executive director of enrollment management at UNI, said the school plans to help the equivalent of 100 to 200 students each year, starting with the incoming freshman class of 2004.

“Low-income families typically, when tuition is rising, begin to think of other options for their students,” Carrillo said. “We want to encourage them to get that education by countering the increasing costs.”

The University of Iowa has been offering tuition assistance for nearly 20 years through two programs, the UI Freshman Tuition Scholarship and the UI Upperclassmen Tuition Scholarship. Mark Warner, Iowa’s director of student financial aid, said the scholarships are comparable to what Iowa State and Northern Iowa are now doing by covering the remainder of cost for students after the Pell Grant is awarded.

“We haven’t seen any increase in major federal programs in the past years, and with rising tuition it becomes a challenge to provide for all of our students,” Warner said. “There’s nothing more important in my aspect than making it possible for students to continue their education.”