The regents witnessed a supportive consensus among university presidents and student body presidents regarding the proposed tuition increase, but ISU President Gregory Geoffroy warned that without full funding of salaries by the state, Iowa State will be unable to award salary increases next year.

Geoffroy said if the proposed 7.9 percent tuition increase is approved for the Iowa State 2004-05 academic year, there will not be enough revenue from tuition to handle Iowa State’s highest priority — funding salary increases.

“This tuition increase leaves us with no flexibility to fund salaries out of tuition revenues,” he said. “After covering items left over from last year’s budget cuts, after having to deal with the most recent budget cuts this year and after dealing with unavoidable cost increases, we have to have full funding of salaries by the Legislature if we are able to award salary increases to employees.”

A tuition increase must be approved at the regents meeting Nov. 12 in Cedar Falls.

During the September regents meeting, Geoffroy introduced the full funding of salaries as the top priority for the university, but received mixed reviews from the regents. Regent Mary Ellen Becker of Oskaloosa said in September she believed funds should first be used to replenish faculty that has been lost due to budget cuts over the recent years.

On Thursday, Regent David Neil of La Porte City said the approval of an average 8.3 percent increase without knowing whether salaries will be fully funded by the legislature next spring is “taking quite a risk.”

“If we do not achieve full funding of the salaries, I could imagine we are going to see a lot of down-sizing at these institutions and quality will suffer even further,” he said.

Regent Robert Downer of Iowa City said he read the newspapers following the tuition increase recommendation and saw the students request the tuition proposal not be raised above the proposed average of 8.3 percent.

“In a perfect world, I would certainly concur with that; however, the emphasis that [the presidents] have placed upon the importance of retention of quality speaks very well to your leadership.”

Geoffroy said he thinks the quality of education is “more important than anything else we are about.”

“I think that’s what our students want. I think that’s what all Iowans want,” he said.

Becker stressed the important position the state may be put in to provide adequate funds to higher education.

“We are taking that leap of faith saying that the legislature will recognize their important role in funding the salaries and meeting the other needs the institutions need to maintain quality,” she said.

With Gov. Tom Vilsack’s 2.5 percent cut across the board, including $15.5 million from higher education, last Friday, the state is now providing 49.5 percent of the universities’ budgets. In the 2000—01 academic year, the state provided 63.7 percent of the universities’ budgets.

University of Northern Iowa President Robert Koob told the regents he can remember many recessions that were more severe than the one just ending, but never saw the same type of decrease in state support as he has seen over the past three years. The state has reduced base funding by $57.2 million since fall 2001.

“The result is not reasonable,” he said. “We have received far more in reduction than any change in an economic indicator can justify.”