The Idaho Board of Education is expected to decide Monday whether to allow the state’s public universities to increase tuition and fees between 8.7 percent and 12 percent.
The board has rejected double-digit tuition and fee increases at the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College, Boise State University and Idaho State University for the past four years. But steep declines in state funding for higher education could warrant the move.
Idaho plans to spend roughly $217 million in tax revenue on the schools during the next fiscal year, knocking state general funding below levels established seven years ago.
The total $377.7 million budget for Idaho’s four-year public universities will fall 7.8 percent starting July 1 and includes state general funds, tuition and fees, one-time federal stimulus cash and endowment money.
It’s a dilemma the board likely saw coming in December, when trustees agreed to temporarily waive a policy prohibiting requests for tuition increases of more than 10 percent for full-time students. The University of Idaho was alone in taking advantage of the temporary rule change, seeking a 12 percent increase.
If the education board approves the increases, costs to students at UI, BSU and ISU will rise between $490 and $592 per year. (AP)
