A simple plan for a zero increase in tuition
I am sorry my colleagues on the Board of Regents dismissed
my idea for linking tuition in the coming school year to
state appropriations. I believe it would have ended up being
good for Iowa students and their parents, for the three
Regents universities, for the Iowa economy, for legislators
and for the Governor.
Indeed, we could have ended up with a zero tuition
increase for next year — for the first time since
1980.
My proposal was never fully explained in the newspapers,
so let me describe it:
There are two main sources of money for the so-called
educational budgets at the three universities, and
those are state appropriations and tuition. Historically,
state appropriations provided the lion’s share
of that money — the ratio was about 80-20 in
1980 — but in recent years the lines have crossed,
and now tuition accounts for about 55 percent of the
$1.2 billion educational budget and state appropriations
account for about 40 percent. This is because state
appropriations have been cut dramatically in recent
years — about $180 million over three years — and
tuition has continued to go up, rising about 20 percent
between the time a freshman entered in the fall of
2008 and when she will graduate in the spring of 2012.
While universities work hard to control costs and increase
productivity, their reflexive reaction when appropriations
are cut is to look at increasing tuition. The Board
of Regents, which oversees the universities, tries
to temper this. For the coming year, the university
officials after some discussion said they could produce
balanced budgets with a 5 percent tuition increase
even though it would take more than twice that amount
to fill the budget cap.
So it was that a couple of weeks ago the Regents voted,
7 to 2, to implement that raise (which, when considering
fees and special situations, is actually closer to
6 percent). Regent Ruth Harkin and I cast the two “no” votes.
I think the universities should be able to charge whatever
they want in tuition for out-of-state students and
for graduate students, so long as the out-of-state
undergraduates pay an amount that is at least equal
to the cost of their education. That is, in fact, the
law, and each year the universities calculate that
number; out-of-state undergraduate tuition easily exceeds
it. Those fees should be based on marketing decisions
and supply-and-demand.
But tuition for undergraduate Iowa residents is another
story. One of the four prongs of the mission statement
of the Board is to provide “high-quality accessible
education to students.” To me, that means, especially,
Iowa students. While we generally provide high-quality
education, it is increasingly inaccessible because
of the tuition and fees. In the coming year, tuition
and fees will be around $7,500 a year, and the cost
of attending the universities — as calculated
by the schools, and including room and board and other
costs — will be $20,495 at the University of
Iowa, $19,658.60 at Iowa State and $18,925 at the University
of Northern Iowa.
These are well beyond the reach of many Iowa students
and their families. The majority of students graduate
in debt, and, in fact, the graduates of Iowa’s
public and private colleges graduate with more debt
than counterparts in any other state. It takes 20 years
or more for some of them to repay this money, a burden
that dramatically affects their quality of life for
decades and that drives some of them — young
teachers and accountants, for example — to take
higher-paying jobs out of state even though they’d
rather stay in Iowa, close to family and friends.
Something has to be done about this.
My proposal was quite simple. The 5 percent tuition
increase will generate about $17.5 million in added
money from undergraduates who live in Iowa. Noting
that the state is in better financial shape than it
expected to be — indeed, the state now expects
net receipts to rise almost $300 million this fiscal
year and another $350 million next year — I proposed
that we go to the Legislature or Governor and make
a deal: For every $7 million they add back to the Regents
budget for fiscal 2012, we will cut the proposed 5
percent rate by one percentage point. If they added
$35 million — which could be done quite easily — we’d
agree not to raise tuition at all for resident undergraduates.
The benefits are myriad. First, there would be no tuition
increase for Iowa students for the first time in more
than 20 years. Second, since it takes just $17.5 million
to offset that whole 5 percent, the universities could
add the other $17.5 million to their general budgets
to be spent in whatever wise ways they deem. Third,
it would help temper the frightening growth in student
debt. Fourth, that in turn would prompt at least some
students to stay in Iowa — if Gov. Terry Branstad
wants to create 200,000 jobs, he needs those young
graduates to stay here. Fifth, it would be political
gold for the legislators who voted for it and the Governor
who signed it. Sixth, it’s the right thing to
do.
The Regents rejected this — “too late,” “not
practical,” you “shouldn’t negotiate
with politicians,” “it’s playing
chicken” with the Legislature — and then
voted for the 5 percent (really 6 percent) increase.
But it wasn’t too late, and it still isn’t.
The Legislature and the Governor could still add back
the money and put the conditions on it. They have the
power to do it — and, I hope, the wisdom. CV
Michael Gartner’s term on the Board of Regents ends this month. He has served more than six years, including nearly three years as president.
