For the first time in more than 20 years, tuition rates for Iowa’s three public universities could differ from one another, if a proposal the Board of Regents is considering at its meetings Tuesday and Wednesday is approved.

The plan would provide a system of differentiated tuition which would allow the regents to determine different rates for each of the universities on an individual basis.

Tuition was tied together in 1982 as a way to equalize the status of the universities, members of the board said.

Bob Downer, Board of Regents president pro tem, said the policy was partially a result of concern resulting from the accounting agency Standard and Poor’s report about the residence halls at the University of Northern Iowa.

The tuition for 2004-2005 of $4,702 had put UNI in the top portion of its peer group of universities, which put the financial viability of the residence halls at risk, Downer said.

Before the report was issued, the subject of tuition differentiation had been discussed before, he said.

According to the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement and Teaching, both Iowa State and University of Iowa are top-ranked research universities. UNI has a classification of a master’s college, which means it offers fewer doctorate programs and has more emphasis on teaching rather than research.

Iowa State and the University of Iowa have more in common with each other than either has with the University of Northern Iowa.

The differing roles of the universities was also a driving force behind the idea to charge different tuition rates, Downer said.

Before the report by Standard and Poor’s, a task force was appointed by the ISU president’s advisory board to look at the issue of differentiated tuition, said Benjamin Allen, provost and vice president of academic affairs.

The task force examined a variety of different plans for tuition, he said, including charging by program or major, by credit, and by classification.

One of the charges of the task force was to examine how tuition differentiation could effectively generate revenue without overcharging or discouraging students from attending Iowa State, Allen said.

Downer said one of the major issues was any policy would be difficult to implement at any of the three universities.

“It does add an element of complexity that wasn’t there before,” he said.

Plans for charging by credit would affect students taking more than 18 credits per semester, he said. Some concerns about this plan were that it would discourage students from taking more courses, which could cause them to take longer to graduate, he said.

“Think about it — if it took them longer, it would cost them more,” said Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs.

One problem with charging by credit is that it may discourage students from branching out and taking classes outside of their majors, Allen said.

“We like to encourage students to take courses outside of their major,” he said.

Allen cautioned that the policy is only in discussion stages right now, but any one of the changes could effect current and prospective enrollment at Iowa universities.

“There is a possibility we could have students who go elsewhere,” he said.

Any changes to the current tuition policy would not take effect until after the 2004-05 academic year, Downer said.

The Board of Regents will meet Tuesday and Wednesday at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs.