Tuition rate announcement for Iowa's three public universities delayed until April

Students at Iowa’s public universities will have to wait until April to learn how much it will cost to attend Iowa State University, University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa in the 2018-19 academic year.

The Iowa Board of Regents had planned to discuss next year’s tuition rates at its Feb. 21-22 meeting in Ames. However, a board spokesman said Tuesday that too many unknowns exist about the state of Iowa’s current and future financial situation.

"As there is still considerable uncertainty about state appropriations, the board does not yet have enough information to be able to set tuition rates at the February meeting," Josh Lehman, a board spokesman, wrote in an email.

Tuition rates will be discussed at the April 11-12 meeting, which will be hosted by the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. A final decision on tuition rates for the 2018-19 academic year is expected in June.

Jamal White, a University of Northern Iowa senior and the student government president, said students and their families deserve to know what tuition rates regents are considering, even if it's not a final decision.“It’s important to be transparent,” he said. “Waiting until June to hear (a final decision) on tuition is a disservice to students.”

Each of the past two years, regents have set tuition in December, only to approve additional hikes weeks before the start of the next academic year. Students and their families have been critical of the re-adjustments, saying it made financial planning difficult. But delaying the discussion is also troubling.

Jacob Simpson, University of Iowa senior and student government president, said he understands why the regents are postponing discussion on next year's tuition rates, but the delay will make it tough on families trying to make financial plans.

"Predictability is not just about how many times tuition is increased in a year, but also about when people are informed about an increase," he said.

Julian Neely, an Iowa State junior and student government member, said the delay puts students and their families in a difficult position.

“With less time to plan, there’s a great possibility the population on campus could change drastically,” he said. “We could see fewer students on campus — that’s certainly a possibility.”

Last year, Iowa regents convened a tuition task force to address long-term funding concerns at the three public universities. The move came after the three institutions’ state funding was slashed by more than $30 million midway through the 2017-18 academic year.

Mid-year budget cuts are likely this year as well because state revenue growth continues to be below expectations. While a decision has not yet been made on how much will be cut from the regents’ current budget, reduction proposals have ranged between from $5.1 million to $19.3 million.

Presidents from Iowa’s three universities had requested $495.3 million in state aid for the 2018-19 budget year; the amount included $12 million for student financial aid. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, in budget proposals released in January for the fiscal year that begins July 1, recommended that the three public universities receive a combined $486.2 million in state appropriations, or $9.1 million less than the presidents’ requests.

Currently, tuition at Iowa State and Northern Iowa is $7,456; tuition at the University of Iowa is $7,486. Proposals call for tuitions of $7,978 next year at Iowa State; $8,016 at UI; and up to $8,328 at UNI, whose rate is dependent on state funding.