Student government leaders will lobby today for a decrease in the proposed tuition increase made by the State Board of Regents.

Government of the Student Body president Rob Wiese and GSB cabinet members will attend the regents meeting today in Cedar Rapids in hopes of getting a more reasonable tuition increase than what the regents proposed.

The regents proposed a 3.9 percent increase in next year’s tuition for the regent universities.

“It’s excessive,” Wiese said. He cites the Higher Education Price Index, which looks at the rate of inflation, for his reasoning. The HEPI is an annual measurement of the price level of goods and services colleges and universities purchase for their educational operations.

The HEPI proposed increase was 2.4 to 4.2 percent.

Wiese said the HEPI for the past few years has been lower than the increase in tuition from the Board of Regents.

He said last year the index was 3 percent, compared to an actual 3.6 percent tuition increase; the year before, the index was also 3 percent, but tuition was increased 4.2 percent; and for the 1994-95 school year, the index was 3.2 percent, while the university tuition was raised 5.1 percent.

“[The difference between the index and tuition increases] has been dropping, but all of a sudden, they want to raise it again,” Wiese said. “How can they justify that?”

Wiese said the average student at ISU, who works to pay for his or her education, will graduate with a debt of about $17,000.

“Debts are just getting higher as they raise tuition,” Wiese said.

While the proposed 3.9 percent increase may not seem like much, Wiese said tuition increases are something students need to fight against now to lessen the snowballing effect of compiled increases.

Wiese said he will present a logical argument to the Regents and he hopes they listen.

This will be the first time Wiese has spoken at a Board of Regents meeting. “I’m just hoping we can get a little more reasonable increase,” he said.

Wiese said the increase in tuition won’t be voted on until October. Depending on how things go at the meeting today, he said he may look into a letter-writing campaign. His hope is to have other regent universities join in the fight for a lower increase.

Wiese will be speaking after a presentation by Graduate Student Senate President Juana Nolasco regarding a proposal for increased assistantships.

Also at the Board of Regents meeting, ISU will request approval of the Register of Capital Improvement Business Transactions.