Students at Iowa State are bracing for another major leap in tuition and mandatory fee costs.

The Board of Regents released its projected increase numbers last week and will discuss them Wednesday and Thursday at its meeting in Iowa City. The final vote on tuition and fee increases typically occurs in October.

The board proposed tuition increases for all students: an additional $650 for residents and $1,300 for nonresidents.

If increases in mandatory fees are approved, undergraduates will pay an additional $686, while graduate students will pay an extra $648 for the year.

“That base increase is something that is going to be difficult for students to handle,” said T.J. Schneider, president of Government of the Student Body.

He said these proposed rates indicate what the Regents believe will “make the three universities run efficiently and effectively.”

The increase, if approved, would make ISU tuition the highest of the three Regents institutions. Resident tuition would be $5,028 at Iowa State, 4,993 at the University of Iowa, and $4,916 for the University of Northern Iowa.

Schneider said students need to recognize their debate is with the state Legislature, not with the Regents. He said voting and contacting elected officials are the best course of action.

Ben Oviatt, senior in English, talked with Schneider about his concerns during lunch on Friday at Meet Your Government Day. “Can I expect between an 18 and 20 percent increase every year?” he asked Schneider.

Oviatt said his wife will have to reduce her class schedule to a half-time course load in response to the increase.

Tamicka Brodie, sophomore in psychology from Grandview, Mo., said she will have to transfer to the University of Kansas next year because of the tuition increase.

Brodie said the scholarship she received as a freshman was not increased to meet the change in cost this fall and she will not be able to make up an even bigger difference on her own.

“I’ve grown to love this place,” she said. “But it’s really frustrating.”