Board approves 4 percent tuition hike for residents

The board of trustees approved a 4 percent tuition increase for all resident students returning next year and a 6 percent hike for all non-residents. That equals a $189.60 increase for continuing resident students and $948.20 more per year for out-of-state students.\n"I think that the board's decisions with regards to tuition reflected a strong commitment to maintain the lowest tuition rates possible in the context of rapidly rising costs," IU President Adam Herbert said. "We won't be able to implement a number of enhancements that we would like, but I think a 4 percent increase is a very reasonable one."\nIU Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Judith Palmer presented the initiative to the board and indicated the increased tuition for IU-Bloomington would result in a 4.2 percent increase ($24.87 million) in revenue for the 2004-05 school year. But nearly half of that money has already been allocated to funds, such as the Commitment to Excellence program and Informatics, leaving only 2.4 percent, or about $14.4 million, for general spending next year.\nWith those numbers in mind, Trustee Stephan Backer said the tuition increase is necessary more to remain at the University's current level than for expansions or enhancements. \n"What you are seeing now is the money that is allocated, that 4 percent, just goes to try and maintain where you are," Backer said. "If you can't go forward, you just have to keep going and maintain."\nIU Student Association President Casey Cox said while students generally don't like tuition increases, he is pleased with the board's decision.\n"As a student, you never like to see tuition increase. However, there is always a give and take, and I'm glad it's not higher," Cox said. "I'm glad the trustees could find a way to keep it below the government recommendation, but I also hope that the public and state legislation keeps the pressure on." \nThe two main resources for University funding are state appropriations and student fee income, Palmer said. The most crucial task has been weighing out the resources that will be needed for next year with the issue of affordability for students, she said.\nThe self-imposed 4 percent cap on tuition increases the University has in place, in conjunction with a decrease in federal and state funding, has forced IU to get more creative in gathering resources. Tuition and fee hikes often attract the most attention, but many other adjustments have been made around the University to limit those increases, Trustee Patrick Shoulders said. He indicated that IU has cut $100 million in the past two years, the IU Foundation has increased private funding to top-ten status among universities nationwide and IU's government grant contract has increased every year.\n"I think it ought to also be recognized that legislature stepped up and really funded education the best they could," Trustee Stephen Ferguson said. "Many states have undergone very negative financial situations because of tight budgets within the state. I think Indiana has been very good at recognizing the importance of education."\nOf the approved budget, 62 percent of the money will go toward paying faculty and staff. While on the topic of faculty and staff salary Friday, a debate broke out in regard to funding geared toward retaining and recruiting "star faculty" versus salary increases for lower level employees.\n"For several years, the University has had a very low percent salary (increase) policy -- about one to three percent," Palmer said. "When you have someone making $10,000, a 2 percent salary increase is not a lot of dollars."\nPalmer said IU will be holding discussions with unions that represent University workers to launch a $625 payment boost to all staff that make under $25,000 in order to try and raise the percentage increase for those workers.\n"The key is, the state of Indiana is experiencing some major challenges from a financial perspective," Herbert said. "What we've got to do is recognize that state funding is cyclical in nature and we've got to figure out other ways to be creative."\n-- Contact senior writer Brian Janosch at bjanosch@indiana.edu.