Investing in public higher education is investing in the advancement of our states, our country and our citizens. Public higher education should give citizens an affordable way to advance their knowledge and increase the value they add to society.

But currently the government’s investments in higher education are less than adequate. The tuition increase recently approved by the Iowa Board of Regents is just one example of national issues with funding for public higher education.

As a land-grant institution, one of Iowa State’s main purposes is to provide an affordable education to Iowans — but the State of Iowa is making this difficult because of lagging funding. During his annual address in early September, President Steven Leath said Iowa State had $12,700 in state appropriations per resident student in 2008, which has declined to $9,400 per resident student from the state today.

“This has dramatically shifted our budget in such a way that now less than 30 percent comes from state funds and nearly 70 percent comes from tuition and fees,” Leath said.

Lagging state funding for higher education is a national issue.

“Despite steadily growing student demand for higher education since the mid-1970s, state fiscal investment in higher education has been in retreat in the states since about 1980,” according to a 2012 report from the American Council on Education.

Universities are left with two options to account for the lack of state funding: tuition increases, or budget cuts that diminish key resources on campus, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

While a tuition increase was “inevitable” because of the rising cost of education in addition to lagging funding, the increase is in direct conflict with goals to make Iowa State an accessible option. It seems that the differential tuition model that includes hikes for certain majors approved by the regents in their last meeting might have certain implications like persuading someone to pursue a less expensive major.

Beyond affecting tuition, lagging state funding affects various resources and programs offered to students. When resources for mental health or student success aren’t readily available to help students adjust to college, the whole university suffers.

Iowa legislators, and lawmakers around the country, must reprioritize funding for higher education. If we can’t provide an accessible way for citizens to gain the tools they need to give back and better society, then how could we ever expect our societal issues to be solved? Quality public education is essential, but it is much more difficult to accomplish without state funding.