Start looking at the help- wanted section, because the State Board of Regents approved a 4.5 percent tuition increase for the 1999-2000 school year Wednesday.

The increase is 1.3 percent above and beyond the rate of inflation.

The regents staff had recommended a 5.2 percent increase, so we should be happy with the lower rate, right?

Wrong.

Compare the regents staff to a typical car dealer. If the dealer needs to get $15,000 for a car to make a reasonable profit, he or she will ask for $17,000 or $18,000.

The car buyer barters with the dealer and probably goes home with the keys for about $16,500.

A naive customer feels pretty smart after this deal.

The dealer undoubtedly says that he or she is doing the customer a special favor, or that the dealership is losing money on the sale, but the customer is so cold-hearted that the dealer has no choice.

We know this is not true.

The dealer never expected to get $18,000 for the car, and the regents never expected to pass a 5.2 percent increase.

The regents staff only set the increase that high so the regents could back down a bit.

Lisa Ahrens, the student regent, opposed the suggested increase. Bryan Burkhardt, president of GSB, opposed the suggested increase. IRHA representatives opposed the suggested increase.

The regents know they have to keep the students happy because students are the reason we have a university.

Undergraduate tuition and fees will total $3,006 next year, up $131 from this year.

The university tells us the increase will be used for “improvements in educational program quality.”

They say the increase also will go toward financial aid, but it seems silly to keep taking more away from the students and only give a little bit back.

Although he said he was happy with the compromise, President Jischke supported the 5.2 percent increase throughout the debate.

The university’s goal is to become the best, but maybe the administrators should concentrate their focus on the student body rather than the school’s image.

We don’t really need suites instead of dorm rooms. What we really need is quality education and an administration that cares about students.