Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Troy McCullough, Tim Davis, Jennifer Holland, Kathleen Carlson and Jenny Hykes.

Graduate students at Iowa State are often overlooked—the vast amount of services and financial resources focus on undergraduates.

For several years, the ISU’s Graduate College has requested an increase in funding for full tuition for graduate students. For several years, despite the fact that President Martin Jischke and the Iowa Board of Regents recommended a $300,000 increase in graduate funding, Gov. Terry Branstad has vetoed that increase in funding.

Branstad believes Iowans do not consider graduate education a priority, and so he denies full-tuition funding for graduate students to look out for Iowans’ interests.

We believe graduate students should receive more attention and more funding. Throughout the work force, the trends have shown that graduate education has become almost a necessity for finding a quality job.

Graduate students are under just as much, and often even more, financial stress as undergraduates. They generally do not have the financial support of their parents, and they may have families to support at the same time. They should be given a break.

As ISU strives to be one of the best providers of higher education, it should acknowledge the value and contribution all graduate students provide through research, intensive study and teaching assistantships with encouragement through funding.