Just as a new school year at Iowa State began Monday, so did the new Iowa legislative session. And since it entered the new year hand-in-hand with some of the state’s higher education institutions, the legislature should spend time this session making university funding a priority, which is something that didn’t happen previously.

Recently, Iowa’s state government has failed its state universities and the students who attend them. Last year, while the legislature passed a bill to provide funding for the schools in hopes of avoiding a tuition increase in the spring of 2016, Governor Branstad used a line-item veto to strike out specific funds, more than $2 million for Iowa State, calling them “unsustainable.”

After the governor’s veto, the Iowa Board of Regents chose to raise tuition 3 percent for undergraduate in-state students at Northern Iowa and Iowa State for the spring 2016 semester and 3 percent for Iowa during the fall 2016 semester. The tuition increase, coupled with Iowa’s higher-than-average student debt, shows that our state needs to take action and help our students.

Undergraduate students in the state of Iowa graduate with more than $29,000 in debt, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. This number ranks Iowa eighth in the country for most average student debt of graduates. Additionally, 68 percent of Iowa’s students graduate with debt from a four-year institution.

Unfortunately, these statistics on student debt are far too high for a state that should pride itself on education. With that much debt, is it reasonable to expect that Iowa students can be as successful after graduation? With the pressure of making loan payments as well as making ends meet on a starting career salary, starting life in true, adulthood is stressful to say the least. 

In an interview with The Daily, President Steven Leath said this upcoming year will be a “tough budget year” and the university will be asking for more than $8 million in overall funding. He went on to say that because Iowa State educates many Iowans, about 21,000, which is more than the other major state schools, he is hopeful the school will get the needed resources to maintain university quality for students.

“The legislature needs to know if they give us money, we will use it wisely. We won’t waste it. They need to know there is a lot of Iowa kids here so it makes sense for Iowa tax money to come here. And they need to know we care about the state,” Leath said.

During its upcoming session, the Iowa legislature should be sure to focus on higher education and the amount of debt students currently compile because, as college students ourselves, we see the value of not only education but also what young successful professionals can contribute to our state. Education of young adults is vital to our state’s future, meaning Iowa legislatures cannot afford to inflict so much debt on its college students. Not only would the current rate damage graduate success but it could ultimately cause damage to the state in entirety.