State Money for Tuition Aid at Iowa's Public Universities Still A Matter of Debate

Lyle Muller
IowaWatch, Daily Iowan, Iowa State Daily 

Iowa legislators are nowhere near ready to accept the state universities’ suggestion that, in exchange for freezing tuition for in-state undergraduates, government take over part of their programs that help needy Iowans pay tuition.

Some favor, while a small handful are dead-set against the idea. But for the most part, legislators are willing, and expecting, to hear more. They want to see something formal from the Board of Regents who run the universities and Gov. Terry Branstad’s proposed fiscal 2014 budget before judging the idea, a survey by IowaWatch and the Daily Iowan and Iowa State Daily newspapers reveals.

“What we have now is just some words, just a proposal,” Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia, said.

(For an interactive map of how legislators responded, visit iowawatch.org)

The state’s Board of Regents are to vote Wednesday, Dec. 5, on a proposal to freeze next year’s tuition for undergraduate Iowans at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa. The freeze is tied to a decision in October to phase out a program that sets aside 15 percent of tuition revenue for merit scholarships based on need for Iowa undergraduates.

The regents have told foundations raising funds for the universities to come up with $200 million to cover some of the costs of that low-income financial aid but also want the state to give the universities $39.5 million next year for aid.

Left unanswered in that arrangement is this: will the Legislature go along with it? Reporters from IowaWatch, the Daily Iowan and Iowa State Daily collaborated the past three weeks asking members of the 2013 General Assembly that question. Even with a small sample that responded – 22 heading to the Senate and 42 to the House – the prevailing opinion was that legislators want more information.

But they are open to the idea, some more than others.

“I actually want to expand the scholarship programs. So I am in favor of more scholarships and even more financial aid for students staying at the universities,” Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, said.

The more common answer was the one delivered by Rep.-elect Tedd Gassman, R-Scarville, who said, “I want to see what’s all available as far as ideas before I jump on board on anything.”

Added Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport: “I just don’t feel that I have enough information. I’m open minded. I want to hear both sides of it before I make a decision.”

The idea is huge and complex, and will require a lot of analysis, many of the legislators said. Sen. Jerry Behn, R-Boone, said he is not a fan of student tuition being used to help others with tuition assistance. But replacing the current program merely changes the pockets from which assistance comes, to those of taxpayers, he said.

“One way or the other, you’re going to pay for it,” Behn said.

Base undergraduate tuition for Iowa residents is $6,678 at the UI and $6,648 at ISU and UNI.

The regents also have asked the state for an additional $40.1 million next fiscal year to help make up for $150 million in funding cuts since the 2008-09 budget year, and have tied the tuition freeze to that as well.

Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, chairman of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said he sees that as a separate issue. “The focus for now is on the transition so we can give a quality educational opportunity to as many students as possible,” he said.

Schoenjahn favors the state picking up transitional costs of providing tuition aid to in-state undergraduates at the state universities, and is charged with steering the proposal through the Democratic-controlled Senate. “I think it’s doable. If educating kids is one of our priorities, then fund them,” he said. “Our next debt crisis is not going to be banking. It’s going to be families dealing with tuition.”

Sen. Robert Dvorsky, D-Coralville, and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said nothing will change his opinion that the state needs to take on the funding. “It is past due the time that the state of Iowa does this,” he said in the survey. “We currently provide private colleges around $47 million for merit based student aid.”

Branstad press aide Tim Albrecht said the governor wants college to be affordable, but his proposed budget will not be released until January, when he delivers his Condition of the State message. “It’s on the radar, and certainly it’s going to be part of the larger discussion,” Albrecht said about the regents’ tuition assistance proposal.

The reality of tight funding that led to budget cuts in previous years doesn’t exist going into this session.  The state ended fiscal 2012 on June 30 with a $688.1 million surplus, which state leaders expect will grow.

The state’s tax revenue projection in October showed a 10.4 percent increase in expected tax revenue from last fiscal year to this fiscal year. Net tax revenue for the previous 12 months through October was up 8.1 percent from the previous year, the best since June 2007, the state’s Legislative Services Agency reported.

Thus, you have House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, keeping the door open on shifting tuition assistance in some manner still to be determined to the state. “Thematically, yes, we’re interested in it,” he said.

Anything that keeps tuition down is worth a look, Paulsen said. “We’d like to plug in. We’d like to be helpful. We’d like to see the students succeed. We’d also like to see the institutions succeed.”

The following student journalists worked on this project:
From the Daily Iowan: Lauren Coffey, Brianna Jett, Cassidy Riley, Brent Griffiths, Nick Hassett, Tierra Simpson, Eric Clark, Quentin Misiag, Stacey Murray, Rishabh Jain, Kristen East, Jordyn Reiland.
From the Iowa State Daily: Katherine Klingseis, Katelynn McCollough, Frances Myers
From IowaWatch: Hayley Bruce, (UI) Emily Hoerner (UI), Linh Ta (UNI)