Last week, college students in Iowa should have been happy to learn that in a budget report by Gov. Kim Reynolds, she recommended full funding to all three Regent institutions.

Sadly, this is the first time in a while that this has happened. For years, Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa have been sidelined by both the Legislature and the governor.

And it still could happen again, but this time there’s hope.

While Reynolds is sending a message to the Legislature by advocating for the Regents, it is still just a recommendation. The Legislature could decide to prioritize other initiatives or state necessities. It could choose to ignore the requested $18 million increase in funding from last year, $7 million of which is dedicated to Iowa State.

We hope they do not. In fact, the Legislature should be funding more than the Regents requested. For 20 years, state appropriations to higher education have been in the decline. Tuition has been raised to try and absolve this, yet more students means more resources and more money from both parties.

The ISD Editorial Board commends Reynolds for advocating for higher education, yet more needs to be done to keep Iowa’s institutions affordable, accessible and of value to in-state, out-of-state and international students.

No matter the appropriations from the Legislature, the Regents decided in a 5-year tuition plan released in November that undergraduate resident students will be facing a 3 percent increase in tuition the upcoming year.

If the Board is not funded, it could be an upward of 5 percent. None of this is new.

In August 2017, the Regents released a plan that sent a shockwave through the higher education space. The idea was a 7 percent tuition increase annually for five years, which by the fall 2022 semester would have bumped tuition from $7,486 to $10,537.

Iowa, it is time to take action and fund not just the minimum required to sustain higher education in the state.

Students, call your legislators and have your voice be heard. Tell them what it means to be a student and to take out loans and fear graduating with a mountain of debt that will haunt you far into your professional life. Tell them how much your degree matters to you. Tell them how much Iowa State does.

Hopefully, they’ll really start to listen.