CEDAR FALLS – After little debate Thursday, the Board of Regents approved an 18.5 percent base tuition increase – the second-largest base tuition increase percentage in its history.

With mandatory fees, ISU students will pay 19.4 percent more for their education beginning in Summer 2002.

In-state undergraduate tuition will increase by $576, to $3,692. Out-of-state tuition will increase by $1,934 to $12,384. All students will pay a $92 fee increase.

Students entering the veterinary medicine program will have to pay an additional $775 for in-state and an additional $2,100 for out-of-state tuition.

Government of the Student Body President Andy Tofilon said he was disappointed by the decision.

“I think the Board of Regents cast their die without doing their homework about the odds,” he said.

The decision to approve what amounts to a 19 percent increase at the University of Iowa, a 19.4 percent increase at Iowa State and a 19.7 percent increase at the University of Northern Iowa, was reached following a half-hour discussion Thursday.

An attempt by Regent Lisa Ahrens, Osage, to persuade the Board to consider a total increase of 18.5 percent was dismissed. Ahrens, the only student representative on the board, was the only regent to vote no on the increase.

“This is not a fun time to be a student, or a regent,” said Ahrens, ISU senior in agronomy.

She expressed concern about unequal increases among the three regent universities, citing the approved 15.5 percent non-resident tuition increase at the University of Iowa.

Each of the university presidents were supportive of the increase, but their counterparts in student government tried to demonstrate the magnitude of the increase.

Nick Klenske, University of Iowa Student Government president, presented more than 1,500 “pink slips” to the regents. The slips, which had been distributed around the U of I campus for two months, were signed by students who believed the tuition increase could cause them to leave school.

Tofilon reminded the regents of the reality behind the numbers.

“Regent [Owen] Newlin and Regent [David] Neil joked last month that lowering the increase down to 15.5 percent would only give students enough to buy 10 pizzas,” he said. “Well, they were wrong. It is 58 pizzas for an out-of-state student . It is seven months of gas . It is 816 weeks of toilet paper.”

Tofilon also told the regents they are not the people who will have to face the students who are leaving.

“You will never see their faces; you will never have to say good-bye – you will never be held accountable for your actions,” he said.

“I will be saying good-bye to the sons and daughters of farmers, teachers, single mothers . These are not just students who eat pizza and drink beer. Show the students of Iowa you care about their futures.”

Most regents said they had no other choice than to vote for the increase.

“It is not easy to vote for this increase,” said Regent David Neil, La Porte City. “The fight is not here. The fight is under the dome in Des Moines.”

Regent David Fisher, West Des Moines, said the percentage of tuition and fee increases compared to the per-capita income of Iowans is increasing more slowly than national averages.

Regent President Owen Newlin said this increase is only the beginning.

“The tuition increase will not make up even half of what [this year’s budget] cuts have already been,” he said.

Tofilon and GSB Vice President Charlie Johnson said their work with tuition is not over.

“I think we did the best we could possibly do,” Johnson said. “I wish there would have been more discussion. I think Regent Ahrens did a very good thing for students. She made a good-faith effort to try to make this a little better. Our fight is now with the Legislature.”

After Thanksgiving break, GSB will begin a letter-writing and e-mail campaign to encourage ISU alumni, parents and friends to contact their elected legislators, Johnson said.

“We can’t treat this like a defeat – it’s a setback,” Johnson said. “Our fight is not over. We’ve just got to fight on a different front.”

Tofilon said students have options other than withdrawing from classes next fall, such as finding scholarships.

“See me and see Charlie,” he said.

“We will do everything we can to make sure students can stay here.”