By DI Staff
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A proposed flip on tuition is taking shape in the minds of officials.

The state Board of Regents is set to discuss raising tuition on resident undergraduates at the University of Iowa by $200, or 3 percent, for the 2016-17 school year. The total cost would hit $6,878, not including fees.

“There’s inflation every year, and there’s a need to sustain the quality of education. Every year, they look at what the costs are going to be for the following year,” said regent spokesman Josh Lehman. “There’s also an appropriations request, which the board makes to the Legislature, and that was made in September.”

However, under the proposal, resident undergraduates would see a tuition freeze for the full year. Last month, the regents increased tuition at Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa for the spring 2016 semester but froze it at the UI after a plea from UI Student Government President Liz Mills. Mills declined to comment for this story.

“That will bring all three universities at a level that will be commensurate,” Lehman said.

Should the regents approve the idea in December, the UI will go from having the cheapest tuition in the state to the most expensive — by about $30.

“Above all, we do really want to make sure high quality is maintained, and we have kept it pretty affordable over the last three years so it’s just a matter of maintaining that balance,” said Hannah Walsh, a member of graduate-student government who served as a regent from 2012 to 2015. “Each school is unique and different and has different needs, and I think it’s very important that we’re making that distinction.”

Officials and leaders at ISU and UNI often express disapproval of tuition freezes. ISU’s student population has exploded over the past few years. UNI’s finances are more sensitive to reductions in state funding because it relies more on in-state students with lower tuition.

Tim Bakula, the UNI associate director of financial aid, said the institution is more focused on working with the spring increase.

“We’re kind of gearing up for how we’re going to help those students who might have questions or concerns about that for spring here,” he said, noting skyrocketing tuition throughout the 2000s that drew student outcry.

“[Now] it’s almost the expectation to have around a 3 percent increase, which is fairly manageable for most students,” he said. “Little incremental increases tend to not solicit a lot of reaction, whereas if you don’t increase enough and you make up for it down the road, that’s when you get more of the outcry of concern by students and family.”

ISU opted not to propose another increase for next school year given the spring increase, said John McCarroll, the ISU executive director for university relations.

Regent Rachael Johnson, a UNI student, voted against the amendment to exempt the UI from the spring increase in order to keep the three universities’ tuition about equal. At a UI joint student-government meeting earlier this year, she said she didn’t think it would be fair. She did support the final tuition plan with the UI exempt on second reading.

ISU student President Dan Breitbarth echoed her belief.

“I’m glad that we don’t have to continue putting the burden on students at ISU,” he said. “I understand that the UI is having an increase so that there is a level playing field.”

Correction: In the Oct. 15 story “UI faces tuition hike,” the DI incorrectly reported that Regent Rachael Johnson voted against the final tuition plan. She voted against amending the initial proposal to exempt the UI, but ultimately supported the final plan with the exemption in place. The DI regrets the error.