Idaho’s state Board of Education has unanimously approved tuition increases requested by the state’s four-year colleges and universities, while noting that the increases, which are roughly 2 to 3 percent for in-state undergraduate students, are similar to last year’s, which were the lowest in 15 years. “We’re on that same track again this year,” said board spokesman Blake Youde.

“These are stretched budgets for our institutions,” Youde said. “But we’ve been very fortunate the Legislature and the governor approved an 8 percent increase for the colleges and universities for the general fund appropriation, and with that kind of support, it really enables us to keep increases at historically low levels.”

He noted, “A lot of that increase funds the salary increase and benefits increase for employees who are not funded through the state general fund appropriation, and we were very up-front with JFAC and the Legislature and the governor during the session to say that that could be the case.”

Here are the numbers:

Boise State University: Full-time resident tuition and fees will rise 3 percent next year to $7,080; non-resident tuition and fees will rise 2.85% to $14,450.

University of Idaho: Full-time resident tuition and fees will rise 3 percent next year to $7,232; non-resident tuition and fees will rise 5.7% to $14,808.

Idaho State University: Full-time resident tuition and fees will rise 2.5 percent next year to $6,956; non-resident tuition and fees will rise 5% to $14,608. In addition, the board approved the new rates as the starting point for ISU’s proposed “tuition lock” pilot project, which will hold tuition level for four years for full-time students who maintain their grades and graduate on time; the board will review details of the plan at its next meeting in June.

Lewis-Clark State College: Full-time resident tuition and fees will rise 2 percent next year to $6,120; non-resident tuition and fees will rise 4.5% to $11,500.

Eastern Idaho Technical College: Full-time resident tuition and fees will rise 3 percent next year to $2,404; non-resident tuition and fees will rise 1.3% to $5,357.

“Setting tuition and fees is always a balancing act,” said Don Soltman, state board president.  “We have high expectations for the education and services our colleges and universities provide to their students, and there is a cost to achieve those expectations.  However, we try to minimize the financial burden placed on our students.”

Board member Richard Westerberg said, “As with last year, the state board made a concerted effort to keep our tuition and fee increases at a historic low because we understand that cost is a significant barrier to pursuing a higher education.”

Each school already had announced its proposed fee increases and held public hearings on campus; the board reduced the requests from BSU and UI, which originally had requested 3.75 and 4.5% hikes, respectively.

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