Some ISU students may have to leave school if the 18.5-percent tuition increase proposed by the Board of Regents for the 2002-2003 fiscal year is approved in November.

The proposed increase would raise resident tuition $668 and nonresident tuition $2,026. This does not include increases in fees or room and board.

“We will lose some out-of-state students due to financial reasons,” said Provost Rollin Richmond.

The University of Iowa administration has proposed that nonresident tuition at U of I be increased by only 15.5 percent to allow for continued competition with the University of Illinois, Richmond said.

He said the ISU administration was aware of the proposal beforehand. They decided it was not necessary at Iowa State.

“[The administration] believe that we are still going to be competitive compared to other area universities,” Richmond said.

Andy Tofilon, president of the Government of the Student Body, was unaware of the University of Iowa’s proposal.

“It’s an option that we’ll definitely have to explore, he said. “If the University of Iowa is allowed to do this, the other two schools should do it. We need to lower tuition for all students, not just fight for the in-state students. We need to keep Iowa State affordable.”

But these tuition increases will do little to offset the current fiscal year’s budget cuts, Richmond said.

“If we closed the College of Veterinary Medicine completely, fired all of the faculty, closed down all of the buildings, that would not completely cover the nearly $19 million [cut],” he said.

Richmond said Iowa State is doing well with what it has. He compared Iowa State to the other 11 land-grant institutions in the country, or the Peer 11. The average amount of money devoted to each student, from state funding and tuition revenue, within the Peer 11, is $10,000. Iowa State receives only $8,670 per student, he said.

Iowa State receives from the state a below-average amount of money per student, Richmond said. The amount will stay low if Gov. Tom Vilsack’s proposal to cut $18.56 million from the ISU budget is approved.

“These are drastic cuts that are going to affect this university for a long time,” Richmond said. “We are losing resources, and it will become clear that Iowa is not as concerned about higher education as it once was. That will make it harder to bring and keep faculty here – that’s what scares me.”

Iowa State will try to increase the amount of aid available through both merit and need-based scholarships, he said.

Earl Dowling, director of Student Financial Aid, was asked by the Regents to determine the increase in financial need that would result from the proposed tuition increase.

Through demographic and aid package analysis, administrators determined need for resident students will increase by 2.1 percent and need for nonresidents will increase by 4.1 percent, Dowling said.

More help may be on the way from the federal government, as President George Bush has proposed increasing funds available through Pell and Federal Educational Supplemental Opportunity Grants, he said.

If the tuition increase is approved, it may cause increased stress for many students.

“I think we can expect to see more students who are struggling,” said Nikki Nollen, an intern with the Student Counseling Center. “[The increase] may decrease access to college for some students.”

Nollen said students should start talking about the increase now.

“I would suggest . talking to their families about how this may impact their experience at school to try and problem-solve in advance,” she said.