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Boise State President Bob Kustra requested on Monday that the State Board of Education (SBOE) decrease tuition for part-time students by 7.9 percent and increase tuition for full-time students by 8.9 percent, said Finance and Administration Vice President Stacy Pearson in an interview with The Arbiter Online, the student newspaper at BSU.

Many students disagree with the president's proposed changes. “I would argue this is a backward way of thinking," said BSU senior Kirk Bell. "Part-time students should have to carry the weight of that load and full-time students shown some grace by cushioning the cost a little."

“I think it would make sense to have the tuition lowered so that more people could go to school and earn more money. Then the state could have a bigger budget for things, like tuition,” said BSU alumna Shalee Franklin.

If the changes are approved by the SBOE on April 5, full-time student tuition will rise to $2,650 per semester, while part-time students can expect to pay $232 per credit next fall. Students with 12 or more credits are considered full-time.

The proposed changes in tuition come as Idaho's state universities are facing a cut of $32.1 million in the 2011 fiscal budget.

Approval of the budget would also reduce funding to many BSU programs from student fees. Some programs, such as the radio station KBSU, are voluntarily giving up their $5 funding per student in response to reduced funding. Other programs, like student health and the student union, will also lose money.

More from the Arbiter Online at Boise State University