State board approves tuition, fees

The Idaho State Board of Education approved resident student tuition and fees for the 2016-17 academic year at Idaho’s public, four-year higher education institutions and Eastern Idaho Technical College. According to a press release, the board balanced the impact to students with the financial needs of the state’s public higher education institutions to cap the resident tuition and fee increases to historically low levels.

“Setting tuition and fees is always a balancing act,” said Don Soltman, president of the State Board of Education. “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.”

For the 2016-17 academic year, tuition and fee increases for resident students range from 2 percent to 3 percent — the lowest in more than 15 years. For the most part, the tuition and fee increases will cover those salary and benefits costs for college and university employees not funded by the Legislature. The increase, by institution, is as follows: Boise State University 3 percent, Eastern Idaho Technical College 3 percent, Idaho State University 2.5 percent, Lewis-Clark State College 2 percent and University of Idaho 3 percent.

“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,” said Richard Westerberg, State Board member and chairman of the Business Affairs and Human Resources Committee, which is charged with examining tuition and fee proposals.

“The State Board has a goal that 60 percent of Idahoans age 25 to 34 have a postsecondary degree or certificate. The cost of pursuing a postsecondary credential impacts our pursuit of this goal. While costs to provide a higher education continue to increase, the Board and our public colleges and universities have worked diligently to efficiently allocate existing resources and cap cost increases. As a result, we are able to again hold tuition and fee increases to historic lows, maintaining our commitment to affordability for Idaho higher education students,” Soltman said.

Currently, tuition and fees cover 47 percent of the operating costs at Idaho higher education institutions, but they still remain among the most affordable among the western states. In addition to student tuition and fees, annual state general fund appropriations are another significant funding source for Idaho’s public colleges and universities. The Idaho Legislature and Gov. Butch Otter recently approved an 8 percent increase in college and university funding for fiscal year 2017.

“There are many competing needs for the state budget, and the Board greatly appreciates the funding increase provided by the Legislature and Gov. Otter,” said Westerberg. “With their funding support, we were able to limit tuition and fee increases to continue providing a high quality education and cover the increased salary and benefit costs for employees not funded by state general fund appropriations.”

The Board will continue its meeting today. The meeting agenda includes a progress report from the University of Idaho, as well as finalizing a new student health insurance policy for Idaho’s public college and university students.

For those who cannot attend in person, the meetings are being streamed online at www.uidaho.edu/live. The agenda and materials are available on the Board’s website at https://boardofed.idaho.gov/meetings/board/archive/2016/0413-1416/index.asp.