Iowa’s Board of Regents gave preliminary approval to a $100 tuition surcharge Thursday for 2010 spring semester while tabling a six percent rise in tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year. The new surcharge would raise funds for the three public universities in Iowa to help cover the 10 percent budget cuts ordered by the Governor.  The surcharge would generate $2.4 million for Iowa State alone. The Regents are waiting for more detailed financial information in the next few weeks before they decide whether to increase tuition.

The student body presidents of the three public universities in Iowa spoke to the regents before the vote.

Jon Turk, President of the Government of the Student Body of the Iowa State, levied one of the major criticisms to the surcharge—that it would affect students mid-year. Turk said he believes students should play a part in solving the budget crisis, but asked the board to look at the ramifications of “taxing” students in the middle of the year and what it might mean for accessibility to education.

“To students, $100 is not exactly pocket change,” Turk said. “It’s $100 toward rent, utilities, supplies, books, food and even medical expenses.”

Student body president of the University of Iowa, Mike Currie, took a different view. He sees the surcharge as necessary if it means keeping their school’s quality.
 
“It is a bargain in my opinion if that can prevent us from losing staff, losing professors, losing TA’s or losing programs,” he said. “The one hundred dollars is not adding to anything, it is a preservation of the things that we need.”

The three university presidents said they would forgo bonuses to their own salaries.
 
The surcharge will come up for final approval at the December Board of Regents meeting.


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