In the wake of last spring’s state-wide budget cuts, tuition for the 2002-2003 school year could increase as much as 15 percent – but ISU student leaders are planning a single digit counter-proposal.

The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, will release its preliminary tuition-increase estimate next week. Government of the Student Body leaders will lobby for a lower increase at the board’s September meeting.

One thing is inevitable – tuition will increase again.

“Cost of energy has gone up; staff on campus are getting paid more,” said David Fisher, a regent from Des Moines. “If we want to hire the best and improve the quality of education, [tuition] must go up.”

Andy Tofilon, GSB president, said he wants the tuition to increase less than 10 percent. He and Charlie Johnson, GSB vice president, have been meeting with the three new regents to discuss the pending tuition increase.

“We are meeting with the new regents to find out what they need,” Tofilon said. “We want them on our side.”

Last year’s tuition increase was 9.9 percent and cost in-state students an extra $310.

Regents consider three components – quality, inflation and student fees – when they figure tuition increases, Tofilon said.

As part of the Board of Regent strategic plan, the board consistently sets a percentage of an increase for quality. This number is almost always 2 percent.

This year, Tofilon said he expects the inflationary component to be 5.2 percent.

Student fees at Iowa State will be completely split by 2004.

“Fee splitting makes a lot of sense,” Fisher said. “It gives students a clear picture of where their fees are going.”

The fate of the tuition increase was determined last spring by the state Legislature, he said.

“[Legislators] are more interested in building amusement parks, and that takes away from higher education,” he said. “For the last two years, we have seen them not support higher education. Their priorities have changed.”

In Iowa, a portion of tuition goes toward financial aid. Sen. Johnie Hammond, D-Ames, said financial aid should be state supported instead.

But David Neil, a regent from La Porte City, said tuition is the university’s money, and officials can spend it however they like.

“Life isn’t fair,” he said. “It is the way you make the system operate.”

Hammond said she wants to see the work-study program – which was cut during last spring’s legislative session – reinstated. The state also needs to give out more need-based scholarships, Tofilon said.

“Financial aid isn’t what it should be,” he said. “If [students] need it, they should be able to come here. That is how scholarships need to be.”

The end of state budget cuts and tuition hikes still is not in sight, Hammond said.

“We are going through some tough times and [we must] have tuition increases,” she said. “I don’t see anyway around it.”