Idaho universities limited to small fee hikes

BOISE – The hammer fell three years ago, after the state Board of Education clamped down on student tuition and fee hikes in the double digits.

State universities were told to keep Idaho higher education affordable. No more 12 percent increases like in 2002, or the 10 percent increase in 2003. No more relying on student tuition and fees to make up for gaps in state funding.

“The message was pretty clear,” said Chris Rosenbaum, executive director of the Boise State University budget office.

So the state’s three public universities will go to the board on Monday with requests to raise tuition and fees between 5 percent and 7.9 percent. The requests, if approved, will reflect the third year that state universities have received an increase of less than 10 percent.

But limiting student tuition and fee increases has come with a price. Academic programs, the hiring of full-time faculty, lighting and ventilation systems, even the clearing of sidewalks, have all taken a turn on the chopping block.

“Basically, what happens is a number of our operations are under pressure,” said James Fletcher, vice president for finance and administration at Idaho State University.

With limited money coming in from student revenues, Idaho State is holding off on plans to expand its nursing program. The university also doesn’t have the dollars to increase faculty and staff salaries, which are now 15 percent to 20 percent below the national average for similarly sized institutions.

Students at Idaho State and Boise State pay tuition and fees for the cost of their educations. The University of Idaho’s constitution does not allow it to charge tuition, so the money students pay to attend is referred to as fees.

State money makes up a huge chunk of university budgets, and lawmakers set aside more than $285 million for public colleges and universities next year – up 7.9 percent from the year before. Still, student tuition and fees are crucial when making up for declines in state funding during past years, Rosenbaum said.

For instance, tuition and fees accounted for 21 percent of Boise State’s $68.9 million budget in 1997, but now make up 37 percent of the university’s $127 million budget for this year, Rosenbaum said.

And when revenue from students isn’t an option, campus budget administrators try being creative to save money.

Boise State has switched to lights that use less energy, replaced older ventilation systems with ones that are more efficient, and relied more on non-tenured professors during the past three years, Rosenbaum said.

It costs about $50,000 to pay a full professor to teach nine credits a semester for one year at the Boise campus, Rosenbaum said. An adjunct, or temporary, professor costs less than half that amount.

“We’re actually trying to move off of that because we’ve had some accreditation issues,” Rosenbaum said, pointing out some accreditation agencies require students to be taught by a certain number of full professors. “You never want to jeopardize that.”

The University of Idaho has delayed hiring plans and kept support offices minimally staffed to keep student costs low, said Lloyd Mues, UI finance director. Sidewalks were unplowed or closed off during winter after 45 maintenance employees were laid off a few years ago. Those positions remain unfilled.

“We’ve reduced and trimmed and done about as much as we can do,” Mues said. “We’re at the stage now where if we continue not getting what we need, we’re going to have to cut some things.”