2008 Woodie Awards
Regents OK tuition hikes
Ben Fornell - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Metro
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CEDAR FALLS - The state Board of Regents approved the second-lowest tuition increase in three decades for in-state UI students Tuesday, but the regents also approved an increase for out-of-state UI students twice to three times the size of similar hikes at Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa.
Tuition will rise for in-state residents by 3.2 percent, or $172 for undergraduates and $200 for graduate students per semester. The out-of-state hike is 6 percent, or $1,114 for undergraduates and $1,096 for graduate students per semester.
"Schools in Illinois are hard to get into," said UI student Jayme O'Brien, who hails from the neighboring state. Her boyfriend, fellow Illinois-born UI student Andrew Oppenheimer, complained that some students have to pay more than the cost of their education, as out-of state tuition reflects.
The UI is "trying to recruit kids from Illinois," he said. "The fact that the same kids, from just across the border, have to pay a lot more is unfair."
But they're not the same kids, said UI Vice Provost Thomas Rocklin.
"I think Iowa taxpayers have shown a commitment to the university, but I think their commitment is tied to educating Iowans, not nonresidents," Rocklin said.
The 3.2 percent increase for in-state students is generous compared with the double-digit hikes earlier this decade, but ISU and UNI have elected 2.5 and 2.2 percent increases respectively on their out-of-state students- less than the 3.2 percent swell they are also imposing on residents.
"We offer a different experience," Rocklin said. "We don't compare ourselves with UNI, we compare ourselves with other Big Ten institutions."
"We're really quite a bargain."
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is charging out-of-state students tuition around $14,000 for next year - just $4,000 more than the in-state rate. The UI's out-of-state tuition for next year is $19,662.
Those costs compare with the University of Illinois, where in-state tuition is as much as $24,432 and out-of-state tuition can be more than $38,000. Regent President Michael Gartner has said the UI has many more out-of-state students than ISU and UNI, and that the majority of them are Illinois residents.
Tuition will rise for in-state residents by 3.2 percent, or $172 for undergraduates and $200 for graduate students per semester. The out-of-state hike is 6 percent, or $1,114 for undergraduates and $1,096 for graduate students per semester.
"Schools in Illinois are hard to get into," said UI student Jayme O'Brien, who hails from the neighboring state. Her boyfriend, fellow Illinois-born UI student Andrew Oppenheimer, complained that some students have to pay more than the cost of their education, as out-of state tuition reflects.
The UI is "trying to recruit kids from Illinois," he said. "The fact that the same kids, from just across the border, have to pay a lot more is unfair."
But they're not the same kids, said UI Vice Provost Thomas Rocklin.
"I think Iowa taxpayers have shown a commitment to the university, but I think their commitment is tied to educating Iowans, not nonresidents," Rocklin said.
The 3.2 percent increase for in-state students is generous compared with the double-digit hikes earlier this decade, but ISU and UNI have elected 2.5 and 2.2 percent increases respectively on their out-of-state students- less than the 3.2 percent swell they are also imposing on residents.
"We offer a different experience," Rocklin said. "We don't compare ourselves with UNI, we compare ourselves with other Big Ten institutions."
"We're really quite a bargain."
The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is charging out-of-state students tuition around $14,000 for next year - just $4,000 more than the in-state rate. The UI's out-of-state tuition for next year is $19,662.
Those costs compare with the University of Illinois, where in-state tuition is as much as $24,432 and out-of-state tuition can be more than $38,000. Regent President Michael Gartner has said the UI has many more out-of-state students than ISU and UNI, and that the majority of them are Illinois residents.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
concerned parent
posted 12/05/07 @ 7:12 AM CST
Rocklin said, "I think Iowa taxpayers have shown a commitment to the university, but I think their commitment is tied to educating Iowans, not nonresidents". (Continued…)
Stella Senning
posted 12/05/07 @ 8:13 AM CST
Your numbers regarding University of Illinois tuition are vastly incorrect. Instate tuition for residents is about $11,244, some fees may bring it higher. (Continued…)
tom
posted 12/05/07 @ 11:31 PM CST
He doesn't realize how much money the out of state students bring in for the school. What an ignorant comment on Rocklin.
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