UI should support proposed 3.5% tuition and fee increase
It was this time last year when University of Idaho President Chuck Staben proposed a 4.7 percent increase to resident undergraduate tuition and fees. It was the lowest proposed tuition and fee increase in a decade.
This year, Staben continued the trend with a request to the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE) for a 3.5 percent increase — about $236 — to resident undergraduate tuition for the 2015-2016 academic year.
This proposal is a reasonable request and is one UI staff, faculty and students should stand behind — even though no one likes to see the cost of education rise. If approved, the increase will bring in an expected $2.7 million in additional revenue and be used to fund essential budget items.
About $1.6 million will go toward a 3.5 percent increase in Change in Employee Compensation, as mandated by the state. According to Staben, the rest will be used to fund critical budget items and library inflation (the additional cost to maintain Idaho’s library databases next year).
Employee salaries are well below peer institutions and UI is losing staff left and right to other employers who pay more and offer more career opportunities.
UI employees deserve a raise, and this proposal will help in the effort to give them one.
It’s disappointing Staben’s pitch for a tuition freeze to the Joint Finance Appropriation Committee didn’t work out. But in reality, it was a long shot anyway.
In a better world, the state would fund an increase in employee salaries and cover critical budget costs. But in the modern world of higher education, the cost of college has been moved from the state to the student. At UI, students are now responsible for shouldering a majority of the cost to maintain the quality of their education.
The proposal also shows UI administrators respect and recognize the importance of maintaining the value of UI. By keeping tuition rates low, the university can continue to attract students looking for a quality education without taking thousands of dollars in student loans.
It’s up to the SBOE to make the responsible decision and approve, in full, the 3.5 percent increase UI is asking for. The extra tuition is modest and would cover essential budget items next year.
–RT