The state Board of Regents will decide Thursday whether their proposed tuition increase will become a reality, and student leaders are not happy.

“They told us they weren’t going to vote on the tuition issue until November,” Trent Preszler, Government of the Student Body director of legislative affairs, said.

The Board of Regents is recommending a 3.9 percent tuition increase at Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. The Board is also proposing an increase in computer fees at all three schools.

The vote on the increase in tuition was not expected to take place until the Nov. 18-19 meeting in Ames, but since no changes were made to the proposal the Board can vote on it at this month’s meeting held in Iowa City.

But, according to Lisa Ahrens, student representative to the Regents, they will vote on the tuition increase this month. Ahrens is a sophomore in agronomy from ISU and she is the only student to serve on the board.

Student leaders from ISU said the October vote on tuition interfered with their plans to protest the tuition increase.

GSB had planned a sit-in strike at the Campanile during the November meeting. They were also planning to present the Regents with petitions, student signatures and student letters explaining the effects of an increase on their debt, Preszler said.

He said GSB representatives will still deliver the petitions, signatures and letters to the Board, but now it will be “10 minutes before they vote.”

GSB President Rob Wiese said he will try to persuade the Board not to pass the proposal at this week’s meeting.

“I’ll try to get them to see the point that it’s harder and harder for students to pay, and it does affect us directly,” he said.

Ahrens said she is still undecided on how she will vote.

“I’ve received a lot of comments from students,” she said. “I am really just trying to weigh all sides right now.”

If the proposal passes, students at all three regents’ universities can also expect an increase in computer fees.

All ISU students, regardless of their major, would pay an additional $4 in computer fees. Engineering students would pay $334, and computer science and management information systems students would pay $262. All other students would pay $98 per semester.

Engineering and law students at the U of I would see an increase of $10 in computer fees, while students in all other majors except for business administration would receive a $4 increase.

The biggest increase in computer fees comes to business administration students at the U of I. These students will pay $340 in computer fees instead of the past fee of $98.

The withdrawn $490 U of I College of Business Administration surcharge proposed at last month’s meeting will be offset by this 246.9 percent increase in computer fees for the college. The $300,000 in revenues from the expanded computer fees will fund technology improvements for the College of Business.

The U of I is also looking into special fees for job readiness and practitioner courses within the College of Business.

Students at the three universities can also expect an increase in student health fees if the proposal passes. ISU students would pay $94 during the 1998-99 academic year, up from $90 this year.

The actual dollar increase in tuition and fees would be $108 for an undergraduate Iowa resident and $344 for a nonresident undergrad. The total ISU undergraduate cost for Iowa residents, including room and board, is projected to be $10,064.

According to the Board of Regents’ docket, the tuition proceeds at ISU will be used in five specific areas including:

• Continued implementation of the four-year graduation plan and improvement of student retention and graduation rates.

• Increased instruction including, expansion of course offerings and instructional hours and instructional support due to increased enrollments.

• Increased responsiveness to student needs and accommodation of the needs of non-traditional students.

• Increased instruction of introductory courses by senior faculty.

• Continued upgrading of instructional support facilities and increased student access to such facilities.

Preszler said if the proposal does pass, GSB will work with the Faculty Senate, members of the student body and the administration to implement a Tuition Oversight Committee.

The committee will ask for written statements on the uses of the additional tuition revenue.

“We want a non-vague definition of how the money is being spent,” he said. “The new money should be earmarked for tangible ways to improve undergraduate education.”

Preszler also emphasized students can still be involved in the decision-making process by calling or writing the GSB office before Thursday.

“It’s not too late to get student input,” he said.

Besides the tuition issue, the Board of Regents will also discuss Native American residency, fall enrollment, salaries, the fiscal report for 1997 and the Governor’s Commission of Educational Excellence for the 21st Century at Thursday’s meeting.