Kernan asks for tuition limits

Gov. Joe Kernan urged Indiana public colleges and universities to cap tuition increases at no more than 4 percent for the 2004-2005 school year in a letter to the Indiana public college presidents and board of trustees members.\nThe letter, sent March 4, also encouraged more openness and public input on matters of tuition increases.\nIn his letter, Kernan said he encourages students and their families to believe higher education is attainable.\n"Because of its importance to the public welfare of the State as well as to the personal welfare of our citizens, it is imperative that we who serve the public in elected and appointed posts do our best to make postsecondary education available to all who can benefit from it," Kernan wrote.\nThe recent economic downturn has left institutions of higher education in Indiana and across the nation with little choice but to raise tuition in order to maintain quality and keep pace with inflation, said Bill Stephan, IU's vice president for public affairs and government relations. \nKernan's limit raises questions about how the cap will affect the quality of education offered at IU.\nStephan said this is a common concern among universities.\n"You are placing limits on the institutions' ability to maintain quality," Stephan said. "This has been expressed both in Indiana and nationally. Something's got to give."\nStephan said despite the economic downturn, appropriations for higher education were not cut in the last legislative session. That may help IU successfully carry out Kernan's goal, Stephan said.\n"It will enable us to work with the governor in terms of the request he has made for higher education," Stephan said. "The president and trustees think we can work closely within his goals."\nThis letter was released a week after IU President Adam Herbert announced that the board of trustees will conduct a public forum to discuss tuition issues and get input from students and parents. Herbert announced the forum at the board of trustees meeting Feb. 27. The forum will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. March 23 in Indianapolis. \nThe presidents of IU, Purdue, Ball State and Indiana State universities, the University of Southern Indiana, Vincennes University and Ivy Tech State College all received copies of Kernan's letter.\nThe letter also asked each school to give 30 days advanced public notice before voting on any tuition increases, to conduct at least one on-campus meeting for input, to increase tuition no more than once a year, barring a budget cut from the governor or General Assembly, and to set tuition no later than May 15.\nCurrently, in-state students in their freshman year at IU-Bloomington pay $6,517 per year for tuition, up from $5,314 for students who enrolled one year before in the fall of 2002, according to IU's Tuition and Fees Web site. Out-of-state students who enrolled this fall pay $17,552 per year, up from $15,925 for students who enrolled in the fall of 2002.\n-- Contact senior writer Alli Stolper at astolper@indiana.edu.