In-state undergraduate tuition rates for University of Idaho students may increase by 5.6% for fall 2019, if the State Board of Education approves the proposed changes.
UI has submitted its plan for tuition changes to the State Board. UI will hear back from the Board this week at its April 17 and April 18 meeting.
“We did do an initial notice that went to campus in early March,” said UI Budget Director Trina Mahoney. “What the initial notice does is it sets the cap. We can’t go to the State Board and ask for any more than we put out in the initial notice because that wouldn’t be fair to campus because you were notified of one thing and then we went and asked for something more.”
The document “Changes to Student Fees for FY 2020,” provided by ASUI President Nicole Skinner, said in-state tuition would increase to $6,181.80 per year if the proposed changes are accepted. This is $192.44 less than what was listed in the initial notice.
If the changes to tuition, technology fees, facilities fees and student activity fees — which are paid by in-state and out-of-state students — are accepted by the Board, full-time in-state students will pay $8,304 per year starting fall 2019. This is $440 more than what students paid this year, or 5.6 percent.
Out-of-state tuition will also undergo a change. The document Skinner provided said out-of-state tuition will increase to $19,236 per year if the board approves changes. This is $1,600 more than what out-of-state students pay now, but it is $328 less than announced in the initial notice. Including the additional full-time student fees, out-of-state students will pay $21,358.20 per year if the changes are accepted.
Graduate student tuition would increase by approximately 7 percent if accepted, Skinner’s document noted. In addition to the $2,122.20 that all full-time students pay per year, graduate students will have to pay $7,753.80 per year in tuition and graduate student fees. In total, that is $524 more than paid this year.
“There’s a lot of information that comes in after the initial notice goes out,” Mahoney said. “What’s happening in utilities, what does the state approve in terms of changes in employee compensation and raises, what are benefit rates going to be, so a lot of things changed.”
Mahoney said most of the money will go towards utilities and employees. Both Mahoney and Skinner emphasized that the money will be used to ensure UI can continue to provide quality education.
“Students are never happy to see the cost of education increase, very reasonably, but I think it’s important to note that the requested increases to tuition in particular are not going towards any lavish, flamboyant projects. They’re really just maintenance to keep up with the standards that our university has to maintain,” Skinner said.
Mahoney said UI does not take budget changes lightly. Skinner said the committee that decided on student activity fee increases debated on changes down to the penny to keep costs low. The document Skinner provided shows the changes will fund benefits, health insurance and WUE while mitigating the influence of changes in enrollment.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]