Some ISU graduate students will soon be eligible for full tuition scholarships, a Graduate College official said Monday.

Students can expect a statement within the next week from Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Ben Allen saying the university is committing to providing full tuition scholarships for qualifying doctoral and Master of Fine Arts students, said John Mayfield, associate dean for the Graduate College, at the Graduate and Professional Student Senate meeting Monday.

Dee Egdorf, president of the senate, said in the last decade, graduate student tuition and expenses have increased tremendously, but stipends and money for research have not increased in proportion.

Efforts have been made during the past 10 years to obtain tuition waivers or full scholarships to compensate for these increases in expenses, she said.

“We feel that feel the university would benefit from this plan in recruitment and retention,” she said. “It’s been in front of ISU administration and the Board of Regents for the last decade, and we’re really excited that it looks like it’s come to a positive resolution.”

Mayfield said the motivation for the new plan is to provide departments with a benefits package, allowing them to more efficiently recruit outstanding students.

To qualify for these scholarships, Mayfield said graduate students must be on half-time or greater assistantship, in good standing with the university and meet any departmental regulations that may apply.

Currently, qualified graduate students have half of their tuition paid by the Graduate College.

This plan would require grants to pay for the other half of graduate students’ tuition; therefore, there is enough money to make this system work, Mayfield said.

Mayfield said the first thing needed to be decided is a “phase-in schedule” for the implementation of the scholarships. An implementation committee is considering the details of a two-year, three-year or four-year phase-in scenario.

Mayfield said he is pushing for a three-year phase-in beginning in fall 2004, with an increase in tuition scholarships from 50 to 65 percent, an increase from 65 to 75 percent in 2005 and an increase from 75 to 100 percent in 2006.

“I’m confident that it will work,” Mayfield said, “It will just take time, but I’m very optimistic, and we are moving ahead.”

The Graduate College spends almost $8 million a year on scholarships for graduate students.

Currently, the tuition scholarship system is underfunded by approximately $600,000 because of the university’s financial difficulties, Mayfield said. Departmental budgets and faculty grants have made up the difference.

“Even though this is a victory, we will continue to remind them of the need for benefits for graduate students,” Mayfield said. “This is a small step.”