The state Board of Regents will propose extending the tuition freeze for the 2014-15.

The  regents’ information packet said the regent institutions have “high-quality, accessible, educational opportunities for Iowans, research and scholarship, service activities, and economic development efforts.”

Discussion for extending the tuition freeze occurred at the regents’ September meeting. The proposal will be brought up at the next regents’ meeting, Dec. 4.

Gov. Terry Branstad agreed with the regents, fully supporting the extension of tuition freeze for the 2014-2015 school year.

“It would certainly be something we’d love to be able to do, because I understand the last time we had two years in a row without a tuition increase for undergrad residents was 1975, and that was a long time ago,” Branstad said.

The UI College of Law also spoke of a tuition freeze in the September meeting, a decision that will also be made at the December regents meeting.

The tuition freeze was originally passed in December 2012 after several months of discussion.

Tuition freeze only keeps the tuition at the same rate for in-state students. Base in-state tuition is currently set at $6,678 and with mandatory fees will be $8,061.

From 2008-09 to 2012-13, the average annual increase in tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduate resident students has been 3.9 percent, compared to a national increase of 5.9 percent.

— by Lauren Coffey