Next year, students may have to pay more for their education, but the decision to do so was made by university officials to make the student experience the best it can be.

At the next Iowa Board of Regents meeting on Feb. 24 and 25, which will take place on Iowa State’s campus, the regents will vote on proposed increases to student fee rates, including housing, meal plans and parking.

Housing, meal plan and parking rates are considered non-mandatory fees — meaning they only affect students who choose to get on-campus housing, a meal plan or a parking permit on campus.

Tuition and mandatory fees are separate beasts in themselves and are not affected by this proposal to the Board of Regents in any manner.

However, for students, it’s not exactly common knowledge as to where the tuition money they spend goes.

Where does the money go?

There is no correlation between tuition freezes and a rise in non-mandatory student fees, said Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance.

Although very much connected to the university, ISU Dining, the Department of Residence and the Parking Division are all self-supporting entities, meaning the funding they receive from student fee dollars is their main source of revenue and they do not rely on the university for support.

However, the recent increases in tuition and fees in the past few years is not only connected to a rising student population on campus but also to a changing student want.

Students recently experienced a 3 percent, or $100, increase to tuition for the spring of 2016. 

In the 2010-2011 academic year, undergraduate tuition for Iowa residents for most majors was at $6,102 for both fall and spring semesters. Most recently, from fall 2012 to fall 2015, undergraduate tuition was locked at $6,648.

“This money that students paid for their tuition goes into a general fund, which is put toward their academic expenses,” Madden stated.

Madden explained that this fund pays for expenses in the library, the Dean of Students Office, the registrar’s office and so on. It also pays for faculty salaries when teaching, but not when a faculty member conducts research — that is paid from a different fund within the college.

Mandatory fees, which are required payments from all students, are allocated for specific purposes.

For the spring of 2016, full-time undergraduate students paid $322.95 for the activity, services, building and recreation fee. The technology fee was $115, while the health fee cost $98.

Although students may not use the services they pay for, the fees help maintain the standard of the facilities and service.

“Paying it forward” was a common term coined by Madden and other officials in the departments. In the past, former students paid increased fees to expand the services and facilities students at Iowa State see today, and the cycle continues with today’s students.

It is a public policy decision to have students pay these fees because it’s a community service that everyone should pay, Madden said. Even if the student is not using the service, such as the Thielen Health Center, university officials believe it is better for it to be available for any possibility.

“I pay taxes to fund the fire department,” Madden said. “I hope I’ll never have to use them, but I sure want them there if my house is on fire.”

The housing and dining departments, as well as the parking division are self-sufficient entities that generate funds from fees from students who use their services. Read below why each department chose to propose an increase in costs.

Housing

The university is proposing a combined fee increase of 3.5 percent to most on-campus housing for the 2016-2017 academic year, according to Board of Regents documents. 

Pete Englin, director of the Department of Residence, said the increase in fees is to make improvements that students want to see in their residence halls.

Most dorm buildings, including most of Richardson Court, would have about  a 3.5 percent increase. This proposal applies to all dorm rooms regardless of single, double or with and without air conditioning.

Suite style housing Eaton and Martin Halls would see an increase of 2 percent. Buchanan Hall would experience about a 3.5 percent increase.

The housing rate increase also applies to student apartment buildings, including buildings the university leases. A 3.5 percent increase would be applied to Frederiksen Court, Legacy Tower and University West apartments. Schilletter and University Village apartments would have a 2 percent increase.

Rates for summer 2016 would also increase between 2 and 3.5 percent, depending on the location, if the regents approve the proposal.

Englin said these funds will not only go toward Buchanan 2, the new residence hall under construction south of campus, but toward maintaining the current housing on campus.

“96 percent of undergraduate students choose to live on campus,” Englin said. “So we work to provide them a better experience.”

The docket for the regents meeting includes a remodeling project for all of Richardson Court for an estimated $3.8 million.

Englin said the project would remodel all of the bathrooms in reflection to requests from the students; those in dorms liked a common area for the sinks, but wanted more privacy in the shower areas. In order to accommodate this, Englin said the remodel project will include personal shower rooms with a door that locks.

This renovation is a part of a 10-year capital plan for ISU housing. This plan helps upkeep operating housing on campus with work that includes replacing windows, light fixtures, the fire alarm systems and more.

“We don’t want to do anything that hurts our current improvement plans,” Englin said. “We can’t serve more students that way.”

Meal plans

Students living in dorms or other students planning to get a campus meal plan will also see an increase in those rates.

Like the department of housing, ISU Dining is looking to accommodate the preferences of students.

Brittney Rutherford, program coordinator for campus dining services, said dining has expanded during the last several years to accommodate a growing student usage rate with the help of student fee money. She also re-emphasized the “paying it forward” model of student payments.

“By students paying for others, we are keeping viable what students paid for in the past, as well as students in the future will,” Rutherford said.

Rutherford said dining looks at enrollment projections and meets the needs of the students as they go.

If approved by the regents, the rate for meal plans at Iowa State would increase anywhere between 3.20 and 3.76 percent, depending on the type of meal plan.

A Cyclone meal plan, 304 meals and $125 dining dollars, would increase 3.76 percent, while the cardinal plan, 275 meals and $150 dining dollars, would increase 3.71 percent. The bronze meal plan, 125 meals and $300 dining dollars, would see a 3.20 increase.

All meal blocks would also see about a 4 percent increase. Dining dollars are unaffected by this proposal and will not see an increase.

Rutherford said if enough students were vocal about a decrease in meal plan fees, then dining would “have to take a hard look at that” by cutting costs and decreasing services.

Parking

This proposal from the university also includes about a 3.5 percent increase in all parking fees.

This increase means students purchasing a residence hall parking pass would increase $5 to a total of $148. Staff would also see a $6 increase in their passes.

Reserved parking passes would experience an $18 increase to $533; 24-hour parking permits would have a $31 increase overall to $921.

Metered parking lots will not be affected by this increase; however, standalone meter spots around campus will cost $0.75 per hour if approved, instead of current $0.50 an hour.

The commuter lot and circulation CyRide routes will continue to remain free.

Mark Miller, director of the Parking Division, said the transportation advisory council, which consists of faculty, students and staff, made the recommendation to administration, who sent it on to the Board of Regents for approval.

The funds from the increase would generate revenue for the construction of new parking lots, as well as the upgrade and upkeep of current lots, Miller said. This would include fixing wear and tear, painting lines, snow removal and more.

This would not only help upkeep what campus has but would also help generate funds for a potential future parking ramp if the demand for parking continues to increase, Miller said. 

Because of this, Miller is in support of the proposal.

The docket for the parking proposal can be found here.

The full agenda for the upcoming Board of Regents meeting is available at regents.iowa.gov, or a copy can be picked up at 1750 Beardshear Hall.