IU approves 2-year tuition increases

IU’s board of trustees approved tuition increases for the next two years Monday.\nThe increase calls for in-state undergraduate tuition on the Bloomington campus to increase by 5.1 percent for the 2007-08 school year and by 5.3 percent for 2008-09 school year.\nOut-of-state undergraduate tuition on the Bloomington campus will rise by 9.2 percent for the 2007-08 school year and by 11.3 percent for the 2008-09 school year.\nThat means that for the next school year, Indiana students can expect to pay $7,837 in tuition, while out-of-state student tuition will go up to $22,316.\nAdditional increases were also approved for graduate and professional fees. \nMost of the money will go toward faculty salaries, which make up two-thirds of the University budget but are still rated ninth in the Big Ten, said IU President Adam Herbert.\n“We are in a very vulnerable position for faculty retainment,” he said.\nIn addition to fee increases for undergraduates enrolled in the Kelley School of Business and the Jacobs School of Music, the school of nursing will add a fee of $1,005 for the 2007-08 school year.\nThat fee will increase to $2,010 for the 2008-09 school year.\nSuch new fees are necessary for IU to meet the technological and facility needs of a modern research institution, said Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Judy Palmer.\n“Things are different today,” she said. “We have to realize that; we have to be able to fund that.”\nTrustee Tom Reilly agreed.\n“The nature of education is changing,” he said. “It’s becoming more expensive. Nurses need to know four times as much as they used to. Business is becoming more complicated.”\nThe tuition increase will also go toward rising energy and utility costs.\nPalmer noted that the traditional idea of universities being funded through a combination of state appropriations and tuition is changing, and IU may need to find other ways of meeting its financial needs, such as deals with business partners or greater reliance on research grants.\n“This is a dialogue that is starting to get national attention, and I hope Indiana University will be at the forefront of it,” she said.\nPurdue University voted last week to raise tuition 4.5 percent each year over the next two years, while Ball State University trustees voted to raise in-state tuition by 4.9 percent and out-of-state tuition by 6 percent for the same time period.\nThe board of trustees will next meet June 21 and 22 at IU-Northwest in Gary.