University of Iowa Tuition Increases

Is college merely a business?

2005-11-23T12:22:00.000-06:00

What is the purpose of a University, and what is the University's largest goal?

Are they more concerned with deriving a profit or educating students?

Well let’s take a look and find out:

If the University of Iowa was considered a business then its main purpose would to be to make a profit.

If the University of Iowa's main purpose was to educate students, then they would be helping students to receive the best education at the lowest price possible.

What does it mean when the University overcharges for books, food, drinks, and school supplies?

It means that the University is more concerned with their profit rather than the original intentions of a school to begin with.

Today’s society is profit hungry and seems to look at everything in terms of how can I make money from this?

Even education.

I wish things could be like they were in earlier times, times when people sent their children to school with the sole purpose of pure education. Now schools, especially at the higher education level, are focused around deriving a profit.

If schools could go back to the way they were 50 years ago, students could receive education at an affordable price.

Universities have become so focused on making money that they have left other more important issues on the back burner. Education first, money later that should be the motto.

Fun With Numbers

2005-11-22T20:36:00.000-06:00

My favorite number is the number nine. This is my ninth and final post. Phew! But I have some other numbers connected with a little thing called the General Education Fund(GEF) to talk about too. First of all, let me clue you in on what the General Education Fund is, because I didn’t know what it was until I stumbled across this page .

The GEF is composed of three different sources of financing: state appropriations, tuition paid by students, and payments received for facilities and administrative costs(F&A). State appropriations and tuition payments account for more than 90% of the fund. The fund is used to run the school. It pays for things like most faculty and staff salaries(except those associated with the Hospital or the Athletic Department), building maintanence and campus activities. You can see a more complete list if you click on the link. So…the GEF seems to be pretty important.

Now lets look at some numbers…
In 2000 the state provided 62% of the financing, tuition was 30% and F&A accounted for most of the remaining 8%.

This was the breakdown in 2004
State 48%
Tuition 43%
F&A 9%

Wow, sucks for us. I don’t think it gets any clearer than that. The state can’t keep up, so we have to take up the slack. And what’s worse, the GEF report goes on to say that the school still can’t keep up, even with our extra, no wait, compensating tuition money.

Check this out…

“For example, in 2002-03, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) had nearly 2000 more undergraduate students than it had less than a decade ago, yet it had 55 fewer faculty and 700 fewer graduate students to teach and advise those undergraduates, largely as a result of local efforts to deal with CLAS’s share of across-the-board budget reductions. Further across-the-board reductions will mean an increasingly poor ratio of faculty to students in CLAS and elsewhere. Similarly, the budget difficulties have meant that the University has lost ground with respect to its ability to recruit and retain a high-quality faculty and staff.”

It takes a lot of scrolling to get to the part of the report where they come up with the things they’re going to cut in order to make the UI a better place, in other words, this is the solutions part of the report. In this section, I found something interesting. It appears the GEF had been giving the Athletic Department 1.8million dollars. What do they need more money for? Especially when any money they earn can’t go to help the school at large. It can only stay within in the department.

Another cut they’re going to make is taking $450,000 from the school’s radio stations. Not cool man. Not cool. But that’s an argument for another time and another blog. I just thought I’d mention it.

Anybody see a pattern throughout all these lovely posts I’ve made?

The state makes cuts.
The university makes cuts.
The regents approve tuition hikes.
The quality of higher education suffers.
The state of Iowa suffers.
The student suffers.

I’m graduating in December and couldn’t be more excited to get the hell out of here. Way to go Iowa, keep up the good work. Make us suffer; take away faculty and funding and facilities. Continue the pattern. And we’ll continue to leave.

Maybe they're not all bad.

2005-11-22T18:13:00.000-06:00

My recent entries have been not only pessimistic, but downright grumpy toward blogs and the possibilities they may hold for the future of democracy both in the U.S. and around the world. This pessimism may have come with my technological misfortunes and the end of semester homework crunch, or maybe the simple fact that I just like being pessimistic. But today, I’ve decided to argue with myself about my past positions. I have said that people shouldn’t write blogs off as the best things since sliced bread, that they aren’t that great. However, blogs shouldn’t be written off as good-for-nothing either. It seems as both sides say, “WOAH, hold on! Don’t assume that they’re that important/unimportant.” So the right answer, as it is with most things, is probably somewhere in the middle. A great example of blogs working just how I was saying they wouldn’t is the case of Iran. Blogs by Iranians living in either Iran or elsewhere in the world have been very popular. There are over 75,000 blogs in Persian language. They have been wildly popular among youth in Iran. Many of the blogs combine personal accounts of living in Iran with discussions and arguments about politics in a country where censorship is heavy (BBC rates it as the 4th most censored country in the world). It is true that the Internet, to a certain extent, is becoming ‘censored’, but the greater part of it still remains as a gigantic forum for free expression. During recent Iranian presidential elections, there was a surge of Iranian blogging about it. Blogging and the Internet have given people a voice that often don’t have one (especially because blogs can be posted anonymously). This can also foster greater international awareness of political issues, because bloggers seem to have this creepy digital world of connections (which I apparently don’t yet understand how to navigate/infiltrate). Like I said before, there are over 75,000 Persian language blogs, but not many effective Perisan to English/Spanish/French online translating tools. This is a setback in the international scope of things, but the effectiveness within the Persian speaking/Iranian community throughout the world should not be overlooked. Hopefully blogs can have the same success in other countries that do not have much of an opportunity to speak up.

Blogs kinda piss me off

2005-11-20T21:40:00.000-06:00

I am getting annoyed with blogs. I think it is annoying that you have to scroll down forever and ever to see stuff. I also think it is annoying when people cant post response comments on blog sites. If you don't let people post things to correct mistakes/challenge your view, etc., then I believe a lot of the good of blogs is lost. Finally, I really don't enjoy how smart so many bloggers think they are.

FRUSTRATED

2005-11-20T20:57:00.000-06:00

Frustrated

Its registration time here at The University of Iowa- a time where students have very little guidance as to what classes they should be taking to satisfy the necessary requirements in order to graduate in four years. Last semester, I was abroad in Spain. I had to register for classes while I was abroad and correspondence was done via email with my counselor. It was quite a frustrating experience for me. No one could answer any of my questions regarding the amount of classes needed to satisfy the requirements for either of my two minors, International Studies or Spanish. During registration time, there is ONE counselor that handles the entire Communication Studies department. That means ALL students who need to figure out their classes only have one very busy person to speak with. I was told that after my semester abroad in Spain, I still needed one more class to finish my minor. I was also told that I needed 2 more classes to finish my International Studies minor. What was the truth? After my semester abroad, I would be in fact DONE with BOTH of my minors, needing 0 more classes. How did I figure this out? I did all the work when I returned home. I made A LOT of phone calls. I even went to see my freshman year counselor who usually does not handle students who are in a major. It was a very frustrating experience for me. So while I am paying out of state tuition prices, and will continue to pay my loans back for 15 years, I cannot even get someone who knows what they are doing to help me graduate on time! Tuition prices just keep rising and I am not seeing any of the benefits!

Furthermore, I am once again in another very frustrating situation. I will be a second semester senior in the spring, and as I registered for classes last week, I did not get any of the classes I wanted. I have been trying to take an art class since the first semester of my freshman year, and the only art class that non art majors can take is a class called Elements of Art. This is the ONLY class that non-art majors can take, that is frustrating in itself. Well this class only has 3 classes which have 12, 12, and 14 seats in each class. That means that out of the ~25,000 undergraduates, only 38 students can take this class each semester. I emailed the head of the art department to find out if there was anything I could do, and I received this email in reply:

Meagan, I am sorry to say that you are in the same position as many other students. Due to the fact that we have so many majors (just shy of 900), the bulk of our classes must be coded for them. Elements of Art is the only class open to non-majors (other than Saturday and Evening classes), and as such is the class that anyone interested in art wants to take. We are only funded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to teach a limited number of Elements of Art classes. I wish it were different--any Iowa student should be able to take a studio art class as a part of a liberal arts degree, but the reality is that we just don't have enough classes for non-majors.

Evelyn Acosta-Weirich Undergraduate Advisor School of Art and Art History

Where is all of my tuition money going? I’d really like to know!

Frustrated

2005-11-20T16:58:00.000-06:00

Its registration time here at The University of Iowa- a time where students have very little guidance as to what classes they should be taking to satisfy the necessary requirements in order to graduate in four years. Last semester, I was abroad in Spain. I had to register for classes while I was abroad and correspondence was done via email with my counselor. It was quite a frustrating experience for me. No one could answer any of my questions regarding the amount of classes needed to satisfy the requirements for either of my two minors, International Studies or Spanish. During registration time, there is ONE counselor that handles the entire Communication Studies department. That means ALL students who need to figure out their classes only have one very busy person to speak with. I was told that after my semester abroad in Spain, I still needed one more class to finish my minor. I was also told that I needed 2 more classes to finish my International Studies minor. What was the truth? After my semester abroad, I would be in fact DONE with BOTH of my minors, needing 0 more classes. How did I figure this out? I did all the work when I returned home. I made A LOT of phone calls. I even went to see my freshman year counselor who usually does not handle students who are in a major. It was a very frustrating experience for me. So while I am paying out of state tuition prices, and will continue to pay my loans back for 15 years, I cannot even get someone who knows what they are doing to help me graduate on time! Tuition prices just keep rising and I am not seeing any of the benefits!

Furthermore, I am once again in another very frustrating situation. I will be a second semester senior in the spring, and as I registered for classes last week, I did not get any of the classes I wanted. I have been trying to take an art class since the first semester of my freshman year, and the only art class that non art majors can take is a class called Elements of Art. This is the ONLY class that non-art majors can take, that is frustrating in itself. Well this class only has 3 classes which have 12, 12, and 14 seats in each class. That means that out of the ~25,000 undergraduates, only 38 students can take this class each semester. I emailed the head of the art department to find out if there was anything I could do, and I received this email in reply:

Meagan, I am sorry to say that you are in the same position as many other students. Due to the fact that we have so many majors (just shy of 900), the bulk of our classes must be coded for them. Elements of Art is the only class open to non-majors (other than Saturday and Evening classes), and as such is the class that anyone interested in art wants to take. We are only funded by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to teach a limited number of Elements of Art classes. I wish it were different--any Iowa student should be able to take a studio art class as a part of a liberal arts degree, but the reality is that we just don't have enough classes for non-majors.

Evelyn Acosta-Weirich Undergraduate Advisor School of Art and Art History

Where is all of my tuition money going? I’d really like to know!

The Ethics of Corporate Funding

2005-11-18T20:17:00.000-06:00

Most universities have to supplement dwindling budgets by partnering with corporations and accepting their money to fund research. Do you really think some giant corporation is going to give a research university millions of dollars free and clear? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Here’s the difference between corporate funding, and the funds universities used to get from the federal government.

Federal Funds
• Have tended to fund basic research(the kind that seems aimless and open ended, but that’s the kind that has historically led to cures for disease and major technological innovations) for long periods of time
• No constraints, more academic freedom to share research and experiment

Corporate Funds
• Funds are provided for short term projects, that are expected to have a near term pay off in the marketplace
• Companies have no interest in funding “basic” research
• Companies are very involved in that they will not allow publication of negative results
• Secrecy is important
• Threats to pull funding are made if the university does not comply to corporate conditions

Ok, so you may be asking yourself what does all this mean to me and the University of Iowa? Believe it or not, the UI is a research institution, and a pretty good one at that. Ever been on the west side of campus? Take a look around and you’ll see where some pretty hardcore research is going down. Oh, and if you’ve ever been to student health, I’m sure you’ve noticed they’ve been building a shiny new structure across the street for a couple of years now. Well, I’m willing to bet some of the money for that lovely campus over there and the research going on inside came from corporations. What’s the big deal?

Well, the reason the UI has to depend on those funds in the first place goes back to the state not allocating enough money to higher education in the first place. That and the UI knows they can’t possibly squeeze enough out of student tuition dollars to pay for research. But they’re damned if they do and they’re damned if they don’t, because being a good research school is very important. However, accepting corporate dollars can come at the cost our education, oddly enough. The brilliant faculty the UI has become renowned for are no longer teaching and sharing their knowledge, but they’re in the lab, essentially working for a corporate entity, instead of you and your tuition dollar.

Grad students in the sciences…listen up! All that lab time you’re doing for that special prof? Yeah, you’re probably working for Eli Lilly or some other entity and if you help discover something really cool, your name will be nowhere on it. You’re paying the UI tuition to be slave labor to have your work taken from you. Wow…that sucks.

Some universities actually have contracts with companies stating they will share any patents that may develop from research. I just hope the Grad students ask some questions the next time they walk in the lab, or actually read the fine print before they’re asked to sign some shady non-disclosure form.

I understand that money makes the world go round, and universities are just trying to survive, but schools are places of learning, not some outsourcing site for R&D. Worst of all, this whole corporate funding situation actually prevents developments and improvements from being made, because academics and scientists aren’t allowed to share their research. That’s all fair in the corporate world, but that doesn’t sound like academia to me.

Surviving College Tuition

2005-11-18T11:00:00.000-06:00

Ok so we all know that college is becoming an essential part of life. Fifty, even twenty five years ago, it was a luxury to go to college, especially a four - year university. However, with more and more people receiving a higher education, the workforce is becoming much more competitive. Since we really have no choice but to go to school, the next problem becomes, how are we going to pay for it? This question is become of interest to many, with the price of college increasing at a rapid rate, we all question how we are going to pay for our schooling, not to mention the schooling of our children.

Well there are many different programs these days to help us start saving. Mellody Hobson gives some good advice in choosing a program that is right for you and your family. A good start would be looking into a 529 college fund plan. According to "How 529 Plans Work", there are quite a few benefits for this form of college planning:

-You pay no taxes on the account's earnings.
-The child doesn't have control of or access to the account -- you do.
-If the child doesn't want to go to college, you can roll the account over to another family
member.
-Anyone can contribute to the account.
-There are no income limitations that might make you ineligible for an account.
-Most states have no age limit for when the money has to be used.
-If the child gets a scholarship, any unused money can be withdrawn without paying any penalty
(just the tax).

Of course, there are always other websites to consider, such as: Saving for College. This is a helpful website to figure out some options. But no matter what way you go, it is important to plan and be prepared.

There’s No Cure-All, but We Can Try

2005-11-17T20:39:00.000-06:00

I think we all wish there were some sort of tuition fairy, who could wave her wand and magically make everything all better. It just seems like problems are coming from all directions. Let me count the ways…

1. We’re in a recession
2. Recessions cause cuts at all levels of government
• The Federal Government Cuts funding for student loans like it was mentioned in a previous post
• State budgets are in the red, thus need to make cuts. Funding for higher education is always on the list
• Those cuts trickle down to the University level, causing budget cuts and tuition hikes.
3. Recessions cause families to tighten their budgets and then they need more help to send their kids to school
4. Even though we’re in a recession, schools are seeing record enrollments
• How are schools supposed to handle all the new students, when they have less funding available?
• Students are choosing public schools over private schools because their family can’t afford it. Thus, expectations are that public schools should perform and have facilities like private schools, especially because of rising tuition costs at public institutions
• However the public universities can barely keep up with the state cuts, and more requests for financial aid, and they have to raise tuition just to keep up with that.
5. Faculty and professional staff end up at private institutions who don’t encounter as many of the financial problems as the public universities
• Northwestern’s president said he would “leverage the public schools' financial weakness to get some really good faculty that those schools can't afford to pay.”

The article I’ve been referencing for this post mentioned how some schools have tried unique ways to help make ends meet. The most unusual idea came from Montana’s university system. They set aside timberland and decided that the profit from that land would go to the schools in the university system. Other states are using money raised from lottery tickets and taxing cigarettes. How hard would it be for the state of Iowa to do something like that? We have lots of farmland here; we could copy Montana’s idea? Or on a smaller scale...how about selling special t-shirts at all the UI sporting events? And then investing that money. That idea would be two-fold. Inform the public, and raise money! Obviously there are no easy answers, and it seems like the problems are likely to compound. But other states/schools are getting things done. Why can’t we?

All in the comfort of your own home.

2005-11-17T17:15:00.000-06:00

What if you could vote for local, state, even national elections from your home computer or television? Or computer/television/pda/gps/blackberry/cell/mp3 player? (Hey-with technology these days, I wouldn’t be surprised) I don’t know about you, but I would do it. Integrating better technology into voting is a reality, but would it result in a greater number of voters? Is that even a good thing? The last time I checked, less than half of the US population that is eligible to vote, actually does so in presidential elections. So, if people could do so from the comfort of their own home, more people might do it. However there are a few problems with this. First off, as I mentioned in an earlier post, not everyone has a computer, but almost everyone over the age of 18 has the right to vote. So, obviously, public places would have to be set up for citizens that are similar to that of the voting booths of today. But there are many other concerns around voting like this. What about hacking and viruses? Computer or Internet failure on the day of the election? The bazillion other possible technological problems? What about flaws in the program people use to vote or the inability for some people to understand the program? (Well, it’s not like the system is perfect now-cough 2000 election, Florida, cough).
Furthermore, should the goal be just to get more people to vote? My dad told me that he didn’t want everyone to vote, he wanted everyone who looked into the candidates, issues, etc. to be the ones to vote-that it wasn’t just about numbers. But, I don’t totally buy into that. I think better facilitating voters is a good thing. It is everyone’s (over the age of 18 and not a felon, in jail, blah blah) to vote no matter for what reasons. So maybe in the future some could do it while watching Nightline, or the Daily Show, or Wheel of Fortune, or Fox News, or while you're buying a knife you saw on an infomercial that cuts through lead pipe...

Talk about costly!!

2005-11-17T16:30:00.000-06:00

Well future students, I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but if you want to go to college, you'd better start saving now!! With the obvious hikes in tuition lately, and no plans of the tuition increase stopping in the near future, parents had better start planning a great deal in advance. In the past, you would hear of parents talking about starting a college savings account for their children when they started kindergarden. Well that is definitely all over with! To all you parents out there, you had better start saving BEFORE you even have your children!

According to KWWL news, "It will cost a kindergartner 200-thousand dollars to go to college, and a one year old, a quarter of a million dollars". This is outragious!! Now I know that many of you are thinking that it is all in perspective with inflation, but all I can think of is: A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS! Some people's homes don't even cost that much money. All of this increase in college tuition comes out to be around "increasing at about an 8 percent annual rate" (KWWL).

So all we can do now is to start planning. With student loans, fianancial aid and college investments funds there are quite a few different options that are out there. If any of you are interested in some things that you can do to start saving and the different investment programs check out Bankrate, it will give you a few good ideas. So at the very least we can all be a little more prepared for our children's future.

Students Want Solutions!

2005-11-16T16:26:00.000-06:00

The State of Washington has a program that helps parents and children afford college tuition prices, Iowa needs to a similar program.

PROBLEM:

College tuition prices have more than tripled over the past 20 years, and they are increasing faster than both personal income and inflation.

THE STATE OF WASHINGTON HAS A SOLUTION:

A program called Guaranteed Education Tuition. “GET is Washington's 529 prepaid college tuition program. With GET, the State of Washington guarantees that the money you save for your child's college education will keep pace with rising college tuition.
The legislature and governor created GET to help families like yours save for college. Today GET is one of the fastest growing prepaid college tuition programs in the country, with more than 55,000 college accounts worth more than $620 million.”

GET is a very helpful program in the state of Washington. GET guarantees that the saving for your child's college education will be a doable task. This program will keep pace with the rising prices of college tuitions. “If you buy one year of college tuition today, it will be worth one year of college tuition when your child is ready for college - even if tuition doubles or triples during that time period. When you buy stocks and bonds, you assume all of the risks of an uncertain financial market. With GET, the State of Washington assumes all of the risks.”

If the University of Iowa finds it necessary to increase tuition prices there should be more solutions. Without giving students and parent’s solutions they are creating more problems. If students cannot afford to attend college, there will be a great decrease in educated individuals. The State will end up paying more money trying to encourage students to attend college then they were spending before. The state should seriously consider this and fix the problem now, before it gets worse!

GET is a wonderful program that offers a great financial solution. Iowa should have a similar program.

Now they're messing with student loans!

2005-11-16T16:09:00.000-06:00

Well not only are we facing an increase in tuition hikes, for the upcoming school year, but now the students who are taking out student loans are facing an increased hardship. The House and Senate are voting on a proposed bill to cut student loan spending. The bill that will be voted on "could cut as much as $15 billion from federally subsidized student loans in an effort to reduce spending" (Chip Cutter). "The committee bill also decreases the fees students pay for loans, from 4 percent to 1 percent, and increases the student loan limits for first- and second-year students, from $2,625 to $3,500 and $3,500 to $4,500, respectively" (IDSnews). According to representatives the average student will probably see very little difference in the amount that they are paying. However, do we really think that this will be the end of it? If Congress is looking for ways to cut spending then where will they go next, because we all know that they are interested in education but only up until the point of haivng to pay for it.

Really what all this amounts to is that the financial institutions will be hit with less money to subsidize and therefore will no longer be able to offer as many loans, and most likely will hike up the prices of the loans. Along with The Deficit Reduction Act, which contains "$53.9 billion in budget savings over the next five years aimed at reducing the deficit" (The Deficit Reduction Act) they will be cutting necessary funds from different institiutions and organizations to lower the deficit. So I guess the real question is: who is going to get burned? I know that the U.S. has an enormous amount of debt and that financial aid will have to be cut somewhere, but when will it be enough? Who will get hit next?

So go ahead, contact a local representative and let them know how you feel. It can't hurt (Local Representatives).

Oh, I'd say somewhere between 10 and 31.6 million.

2005-11-15T19:35:00.000-06:00

There are lots of blogs out there. Between 10 and 31.6 million to be exact. So, they have to be doing something? Creating some kind of impact, right? Of course they are, but the number of blogs out there and the number of people that read blogs on a daily basis cannot be pinned down exactly. Carl Bialk, in an article for the Wall Street Journal Online reports that most blogs are started up by people and then left to rot and die out there in cyberspace, but they're still counted. Like for instance, my friend that has a Live Journal in which he blabs on about things to whoever will read them. Does that count as a blog? It's not helping me become a better "informed citizen", unless that means knowing what John ate for lunch on Sunday and how he felt about it. However, blogs do have an impact. Look at the case of Little Green Footballs, the blog that kept an eye on Dan Rather's report on Prez GW's National Guard Service-just look at what happened there. (If you do not know, go find out on a blog somewhere-I'm sure the info is out there...somewhere) Or what about a blog like PostSecret? It is not really like a blabby online diary style blog but not a political/informed citizen/idealistic democratic blog either, but it is really sweet and is a forum for people to share life experiences and secrets, creating a sort of online community. People send postcards to the publisher of this blog with secrets they want to share (anonymously) and what results is a weird, funny, creepy, depressing, inspiring site.
So, maybe we should all get into some sort of blogging, in the hopes that it will turn into something bigger and better than the person that started it. We also should just stop counting the number of blogs and use that to come to some conclusion besides the number of blogs there are-dead or alive. There are already too many confusing statistics out there.

University Presidents: Their Salaries, Your Tuition $’s

2005-11-15T19:12:00.000-06:00

Guess what former University of Iowa president is now the highest paid public university president in the nation? Non other than Mary Sue Coleman, now at the University of Michigan. Would you now like to guess what her administrative services are worth? Almost three-quarters of a million dollars…$724,604 in compensation according to AOL News. Salary competition is occurring because a lot of people are retiring and colleges want to replace them with people that have already been a president somewhere else. The rash of retirements and the want for governing boards to hire experienced people has caused an imbalance of supply and demand. In addition, the intensity of competition has driven the average tenure of a president at a large university down to five years. How can that possibly be long enough to get anything done?

So how did Michigan get Mary Sue from us in the first place? Well, according to an article in yesterday’s NY Times, it breaks down like this: she has “a package that included an annual base salary of $475,000 but also deferred pay of $500,000 as a retention bonus and $375,000 in additional base pay if she stayed at Michigan for five years.” They’re pretty smart up there in Ann Arbor. If you’re going to spend all that money, you might as well make sure your president sticks around awhile.

Our current president, David Skorton makes a paltry $302,047 compared to Mary Sue. He’s been quoted as saying he’s fine with what he makes because he loves his job and the university. That’s all fine and dandy. As long as he’s here to stay. I don’t want my tuition squandered on some guy just passing through the UI on his way to bigger and better things. Even one of the state regents doesn’t have the utmost confidence in the situation. Check out this series statements and comments from an article in today’s Press-Citizen :

Iowa state Board of Regents member Dr. Amir Arbisser said those figures were a reminder of what a good deal the state of Iowa was getting.

"These people are constantly visible at the national level, and, believe it, there are definitely people at the national level who are constantly trying to recruit them away," Arbisser said.

Arbisser said people also needed to consider that university presidents would be making significantly more money if they were running private corporations comparable in size and complexity to their schools.

"I don't think you would find an individual like Dr. Skorton running an enterprise like the University of Iowa systems, which includes the (UI) Hospitals and Clinics, with a total annual budget of somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, for a salary in the range that he gets," Arbisser said. "It is a highly unusual bargain (for the state)."

Way to play the game Arbisser! You just told Skorton that you got him cheap. I’m going to be even more disgruntled with the regents if Skorton decides his services are worth more and he up and leaves. When a university has a revolving door in the president’s mansion, it affects the quality of the institution, all the way down to the student level. I don’t want to pay for that in the classroom, and I certainly don’t want to pay more in tuition when it comes time to try and lure a new president in. What mess.

Miscommunication a Problem

2005-11-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

According to the Daily Iowan, “The GAO study found that on average, university students who started out at community colleges enroll in 10 more credit hours and spend three extra months earning their degree than peers who go directly to the four-year school. The most likely reason for this gap is a lack of communication between community colleges and four-year institutions. Here in Iowa, the state Board of Regents has the bureaucratic-sounding Liaison Advisory Committee for Transfer Students, which aims to reduce the difficulty of the transfer. Its efforts seem not to be succeeding in making community-college transfers the money-savers they are meant to be.”

Many students cannot afford the tuition prices at a Big Ten College, and seek other alternatives. Many students either choose to stay in state, or substitute a year or two attending a community college. In interviews with students who have attended the local community college here in Iowa while trying to gain residency, they have found it to be quite a grueling process. “Nobody knows what’s going on, one school will tell you one thing, another will tell you something completely different, and I have to pay the consequences.” One student commented. He is paying for everything on his own, college, rent, and food and miscommunication has cost him an extra semester here at the University.

The school should be trying to work with students early in the process in order to ensure that they are taking enough credits and that the credits they are taking will transfer. A little more communication is all that is necessary to make the transferring credit hours a lot less complicated.

#1

Are blogs that great?

2005-11-13T23:44:00.000-06:00

This blog has been up and running for a few weeks now, and it must be said that its creation has not been easy. First, our group ran into problems creating log-in I.D.s for everyone (the notification e-mail didn’t send). Second, one group member’s blog disappeared for some reason, eliminating all of her hard work. Then, the page’s format looked all funny-problem with the HTML...I think. Obviously free blog creation software is not going to be perfect. Dealing with all these things was very frustrating for me; I am the site’s go-to person for the technical stuff like creating links, making sure the blogs are posting right, etc. Now, I’m not a person that is super technology savvy, but I am a quick learner and not totally out of the loop. I figured, how hard could it really be right? Tons of stupid people can make blogs, and if they can, I can. I assumed that the technology aspect of this would be a cake-walk, but have been proven wrong. It got me thinking about how effective these things can really be. Some technological optimists think that blogs are a great new medium that will ultimately lead to more informed, publicly engaged citizens because they allow people to actually participate in democracy on a regular basis. However, I think this view is a bit too rose colored. First, not everybody has a computer. For the sake of this argument I am only referring to America, where more people have computers than many other countries in the world, but not everyone has them. There is still a divide between the information people like me have access too (wireless internet, more than basic knowledge of how computers and programs work, access to IT help desks, etc.) But I am not everyone. Furthermore, the blogosphere is a huge ‘place’ and it can be tough to find “good” ones or to create a “good” one that people actually want to read. Considering that I find it confusing, I can’t imagine how my mother would be able to do it. People that have been quick to say the ways blogging will change the political/social atmosphere of the country or even the world need to sit and wait awhile to see the longer term effects. This is not to say that their is merit in the technological optimists views (optimists are the ones that seem to always get things done), but a more critical look should be taken.

GIVE US A BREAK!!

2005-11-13T23:12:00.000-06:00

Why are the food prices at the Iowa Memorial Union jacked up so high? I went to the IMU pantry to get a couple of things the other day and charged them to my UBILL; I could not believe how expensive the total was! The same goes for when it is time to buy books, the book prices at Iowa Book and the IMU are so pricey. I found the same exact books, in a better condition for a much cheaper price by purchasing them through other means. The outrageously high prices that the University of Iowa places upon their goods really frustrate me as a student. I have a couple of days throughout my school week, when I do not have the time to run home to get food between my classes. I am taking out student loans in order to attend this University, and do not have much extra spending money to be buying food around campus. So, I go to the IMU so that I can charge my meals, and worry about paying the bills back later. I would not choose to do it this way if I had any other options.

Shouldn’t the University be trying to help students survive rather than charging twice the amount of money necessary for a small sub sandwich? I think so. I think the University should be making it easier and cheaper for students to eat on campus. The food is by no means gourmet, yet we are charged an arm and a leg for it. How does this tie into the issue on tuition? Well, I just want to know where students are supposed to get their break... There are student discounts provided to us when we go to see a movie or get entrance into a museum, yet the actual school we are paying to doesn’t give us a break anywhere! At least if they are going to increase tuition, they should cut us some slack in other areas!

I Just Don't Get It

2005-11-11T22:51:00.000-06:00

Has anyone heard of the Grow Iowa Values Fund? Anyone? I learned about it HERE. Basically, it’s a large pool of money to be used to maintain and create jobs in Iowa, as well as fuel developments in certain business sectors, primarily those related to technology. Recently, money was allocated from this fund to the state board of regents who are then to divide it amongst the three state universities. Take a guess as to how much? Go on, guess? If I did my math correctly it’s 50million dollars! It is the regents’ job from now until 2015 to divide up annual allotments of 5million dollars between the three universities. Oh, and there’s a catch. There’s always a catch. Whatever amount of money the school is given by the regents, they are required to match it. Nothing comes for free in this life. Perhaps corporate sponsorship would come into play here, but trying to find someone to pony up millions of dollars year after year for the next 10 years? That’s a job I wouldn’t want to have because I certainly can't imagine any wiggle room in UI's or any of the other school's budgets for something like this. And as a student, I don't want to pay for it in the form of higher tuition or some mystery fee on my U-bill.
I’m all for technology and entrepreneurism, and trying to make the state a better place through investing in our higher education system. What I don’t understand is this: When the state is having budget problems, which leads to the regents raising the cost of tuition and causing the schools to make cuts…wouldn’t it make more sense to just give the schools the money, no strings attached? I think being able to hire or maintain quality faculty is just as important as whatever the Grow Iowa Value Fund wants the schools to do for the money. The universities are already the main draw for jobs and new talent to Iowa anyways. I think it would be far more prudent to invest in Iowa’s future by supporting its current infrastructure. The future is the universities of this state. The future is the students and faculty within those universities. The future suffers from the ignorance of the present and past.

Well it's official!

2005-11-11T13:34:00.000-06:00

As of last Thursday, November 3rd, at the Iowa State Board of Regents meeting, held here in Iowa City, tution prices will indeed increase another 4 % this coming year, following the "four year - transformation plan". Student leaders and representatives of all three Iowa Universities supported and encouraged the increase, due to hopes of gaining more state finance.

A recent article in the Daily Iowa, "Officials cheer small tuition hikes", comments on representatives, and student's optimism for the upcoming tuition hike. ""Given our nation's rapidly declining support for higher education, student aid, and research, we have no choice but to raise tuition or allow the quality of our institutions to deteriorate," said UI Student Government President Mark Kresowik before the state Board of Regents on Thursday in the IMU" (Daily Iowan, Sam Edsill).

As the tutition hikes seem inevitable, there is one thing that can make us all feel a little bit better. As of this recent Board of Regents meeting, the three Iowa Universities have, for the first time, been able to vote for different tuition increases. Although all three were very similar in expectant quotes, there is always the possiblity that the UI will come in lower then the rest, and that has to make us feel a little more optimistic.

-Melody

Cut and paste.

2005-11-10T23:09:00.000-06:00

As a continuation of my previous entry entitled “So, what can I do?” I posted the names of people to shout at, now here’s something to say to them.

Honorable INSERT NAME HERE,

I am a student at the University of Iowa, and am very concerned with the trends in tuition increases and the way the State is handling them. I know that over the past few years, increases have not been as substantial as in past years (2002 and 2003 for example), but they still have a negative effect on students. State legislators are not doing enough to ensure that state university tuition stays low. Education is a very important part of Iowa’s culture, and seeing it deteriorate because of drastic price increases would be very sad.

Education in Iowa must be affordable if Iowa wants its public universities to maintain their status. There are many ways to ensure this. One is establishing a more progressive and balanced state tax policy in which everyone, including corporations, pays their fair share. Another is dipping into the state’s Rainy Day fund, which has more than 500 million dollars in it.

In the past, most students have not done much to speak up about our concerns, but I tell you, it is important to us! Saying that, I know I speak for many, who are students in Iowa accruing thousands of dollars of loans because it is worth it. Please help us by guaranteeing that in the future that we can look at the price of Iowa and still say, “It’s worth it.”

Regards,

Cut and paste this into an e-mail, and change it however you want, and send it off to your representative of choice. Personally, I have a thing for Betty Grundberg...she has impecable taste in pant suits.

What are we really paying here? And he said WHAT?

2005-11-10T23:01:00.000-06:00

Want to know how much you will be paying to attend school here at Iowa for the 2005-2006 school year--based on your specific area of study? It's simple-just go to http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/tuition to find out. Look at what school you are in, go to the table on the corresponding page for that college, and there it is!

After recovering from the extremely large number you undoubtedly just witnessed, you may be wondering what other Iowa students are saying or even doing about this increase. In addition, what are the student groups on campus, even more specifically the student government, saying about the increase?

Nothing good, if you go by another one-sided article printed November 3 by The Des Moines Register. Mark Kresowik, whom most of you all know as the student body president here at the U of I is quoted as saying "'The University of Iowa student government supports the tuition proposal. Given our nation's rapidly declining support, we have no choice but to raise tuition or allow our institutions to deteriorate.'"
www.desmoinesregister.com

No choice? I believe this is wrong. Our economy is not the only means of support contributing to an increase in tuition. There are many other factors that our university can change that will easily allocate more funds, keeping tuition down. Changing allocation of funds, using private donor money to help, and cutting back general spending are all options to increase the amount of money coming into the University of Iowa.

An increase in tuition is by no means the 'only choice' we have. It can be suggested as one answer, but I do not believe it to be the correct one. Kresowik may be speaking behalf of the student government here at Iowa, but it could be said that he is not speaking on behalf of the student body, which is what I thought to be his job. In addition, once again The Register has proved a bias in their reporting, only showing support to the tuition increase, with no interviews featuring students against it.

When will the media wake up and give our voices a change to be heard? Maybe the answer is lying right in front of us--that it is in our hands to take the actions needed to make a difference.

Who's Fighting for Us?

2005-11-10T22:18:00.000-06:00

The UISG right? Well, sort of. They’re currently working on 22 different initiatives. 22! Only one of them is specifically related to tuition. Granted some of their initiatives are time sensitive, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t require any less dedication to plan or resources in the form of manpower and money. I’m not trying to put down the student government in anyway. I’m just asking whether they are trying to do too much? I can tell you a few key issues that students care about. Tuition increases, drinking, ummm…I mean whether or not the bars go 21, and maybe some academic things like class size and whether they’re taught by a competent T.A. or not. I have to admit, that I may be a little out of touch with things, because I haven’t lived on campus in a long time, but I’m pretty sure the UISG doesn’t even ask us what we’re interested in. Obviously we vote for the candidate(s) who profess to work on issues that relate to our individual interests, but I’m more concerned about what happens after the election. How about another vote?
I think it may be too much to ask the student body to come up with a list of initiatives to vote on, considering our apathetic nature and all. But we could certainly handle voting on a list generated by the student government. Perhaps have a blank for write in suggestions. I understand the concept of electing someone is to represent you and then make decisions for you. But when the government is our peers, and it’s located right under our nose, it’s hard not to be involved; and the UISG should want to involve us more. Take a look at what they’ve been doing…http://www.uiowa.edu/~uisg/cloakanddagger/main.html, does it interest you? I can barely count enough that interest me to fill one hand.

Media Coverage Tainted

2005-11-09T17:31:00.001-06:00

On November 4, an article covered by The Des Moines Register detailed the price of tuition increase and the reaction of this increase by students at all three state universities. The results proved to be both shocking--and in my mind, untrue. Here is a small sample of what the Register included in their November 4th piece about overall student reaction to the increase in tuition:

"Students from ISU, the U of I and the University of Northern Iowa told the regents they are pleased that across the board tuition increases for 2006-07 will top out at 5.5 percent."
www.desmoinesregister.com

The remainder of the article continued to place this increase in a positive light, featuring no negative aspects of it, or how this will affect students overall. Student body presidents from both UNI and Iowa State were quoted as saying that "students seem to be pretty supportive" of the increase." It is time for the Register to wake up and realize that the majority of students are not pleased with another proposal to increase our tuition.

It is easy to side with those promoting the increase. Those of us who are against it, on the other hand, need to make our voices heard in the media. Options include: Writing into The Daily Iowan or other local newspapers, such as The Press Citizen; writing into major Iowa newspapers (such as The Des Moines Register).

Complaints need to be made that our voices aren't being heard, and the only way we can do this is with action. Hopefully a more neutral article will be found in the future.

Media Coverage Tainted

2005-11-09T17:31:00.000-06:00

Agreed: Students Must Unite!

2005-11-09T14:23:00.001-06:00

It is easy to complain, and much more difficult to do something about it....

BUT...without action or speaking up, is silence....and silence=agreement.

I have gone out and surveyed students on campus and asked them how the feel about the current tuition situation, the results were shocking.

-The majority of students (83%) replied with sentiments of frustration and lost hope. They expressed to me their feelings of having a small voice amongst a large university.

The same thing happens at a much larger level in this nation. When it comes to political issues, citizens possess similar feelings. Many feel that their voice will not make an impact, while many are ignorant about the issues in the first place, and do not have the confidence to speak up.

For the past 35 years there has been a steady decline in young voters, and in the 2004 elections they were at the ultimate low. "New Research Center Formed to Study Youth Civic Engagement." Grantee Press Releases, CIRCLE. 9 Jan. 2005.

Silence has become a trend within the United States, especially our young adults.

Philip Meyer, author of “Public Journalism and the Problem of Objectivity." creates an important argument in terms of issues. His overall argument focuses on the need of following issues, too often we hear about something going on in the news, and never hear much about it again.

Issues need to be understood to a greater level and they need a longer attention span.

We need to delve deep into the student issues, follow them, and not let them go until we see the results we can feel comfortable with.

The excuse of not knowing where to go to voice your opinion have been eliminated due to the links provided in this blog, now go out and tell the university what you really think!

#1

Agreed: Students Must Unite!

2005-11-09T14:23:00.000-06:00

Let's take the initiative

2005-11-09T13:19:00.000-06:00

In an article found in the Daily Iowan, "Student's should take initiative in preventing higher tutition", it quoted the President of the Iowa State Board of Regents as saying "other resources are rapidly running out, and higher tuition rates are becoming a realitly of Iowa's higher -education system". So I guess they are right, it is now up to us, the students, to make an impending change for our future, here at the UI.

So here's the deal, fellow students, we need to make our voices heard! There are a couple of different ways to complete this task. One of the ways is to get involved with the student governement http://www.uiowa.edu/~uisg/. Another way is to contact the Iowa State Board of Regents. http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/. Granted, it's going to take a lot of pushing in order for them to hear us, but every little bit helps! So lets get our voices out there and take a stand for bettering our college experience!

-Melody

So, what can I do?

2005-11-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

In a Daily Iowan article entitled "UI students shrug at threat of tuition hike", UISG president Mark Kresowik is quoted as saying, "Students don't know how to know". So true. Often times I see an article in the paper about tuition increases (or other things) and say to myself, "That really pisses me off. I should do something about it," but then I don't know the next step to take or it seems too time consuming or complicated to figure it out.
So, here are some things you can do:

See what's going on with UISG, they've been doing a great job of sticking up for us!

Contact state legislators. They're the ones we have to yell at!

Iowa Senate Education Committee Chair Nancy Boettger (R) nancy.boettger@legis.state.ia.us
Iowa Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Jeff Lamberti (R) jeff.lamberti@legis.state.ia.us
Iowa Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education Chair Donald Redfern (R) don.redfern@legis.state.ia.us
Iowa House Education Committee Chair Betty Grundberg (R) betty.grundberg@legis.state.ia.us
Iowa House Appropriations Committee Chair David Millage (R) david.millage@legis.state.ia.us
Iowa House Appropriation Sub-committee on Education Chair Cecil Dolecheck (R) cecil.dolecheck@legis.state.ia.us

Contact our local representatives:
Bob Dvorsky (D, Coralville) joe.bolkcom@legis.state.ia.us

Check out what Iowa's Board of Regents has to say.

I'm assuming they already know that we don't like the idea of tuition hikes, but we need to keep reminding them!

Iowa has Corn and What Else?

2005-11-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

Education! Iowa has always been known as one of the premier places for education in the nation. From kindergarten to the university level. Iowa often tops the list for the most literate state in the nation too. So it seems to me that Iowa has its agriculture and its renowned education system. A system at the university level that produces valuable research in numerous fields. Often that research leads to companies that headquarter themselves in Iowa. Not to mention one of the best University Hospital systems in the country right here at the University of Iowa. So what is going on with the leaders of this state that they wouldn’t want to support the only other thing they are known for? Something that could potentially return their investment in a number of ways: drawing more people to Iowa, raising the profile of the state nationally and internationally, creating more tax revenue, providing jobs, and more. The state of Iowa needs to take a step back and reprioritize. Sacrifices need to be made to invest in the future. Small tuition hikes in step with inflation are reasonable in order to maintain the status quo. But I think the voters of this state need to speak up when the next elections come around, and if a tax raise for education is on the ballot, the vote should be yes. Unfortunately, the voters have to rely on the legislators to come up with the referendum in the first place. And that’s where things have been stuck, like a previous post sites with some statistics, for a very long time. I never realized how complicated a topic like tuition could be. It’s far more than a number.

Who is really paying more?

2005-11-07T22:54:00.000-06:00

Up until a few weeks, I thought that our tuition increases were due only to the Board of Regents. Well to my amazment, the University tries to limit the increase by the rate of inflation, in exchange for a $40 million grant in state funds, over the next 20 years. I guess that this should make me feel better, but after hearing that tuition may increase again, I no longer cared about whether or not the increase was following with the rate of inflation. However, after reading in the Daily Iowan that "at the regents' Nov. 3 meeting in the IMU, Skorton will propose a 4.5 percent tuition increase for resident undergraduates and a 6.5 percent hike for nonresident undergraduates for the 2006-07 academic year. Requested tuition increases for graduate students are roughly 4.5 percent for both residents and nonresidents...and reallocate resources to "core academic needs," in exchange for $40 million extra per year in state funds." (Sam Edsill, The Daily Iowan-see full article)

This meeting made me wonder, what do all of these "needed" funds go towards? And is it really worth all of us paying an increase to go here every year? Well the answer is yes. The real question in all of this is: Is it the quantity or quality that we are concerned about? I believe that the quality of the programs offered here at the University are worth paying a little extra for...and in all honesty, will benefit us all more in the long run. This probably isn't the exact advice some of us are looking for when taking out those student loans, but it's the best word of encouragement we have for now.

Melody

Tuition Prices Rise, Fed Aid drops

2005-11-07T19:04:00.000-06:00

How can the state expect students to be able to meet tuition prices as they rise year after year if they cannot even compensate with Federal Funding?

That is a problem many students face. -Tuition prices are hiked, while Financial Aid is being waned.

If the state will allow rising tuition prices for public schooling in the state of Iowa, and use inflation as one of their arguments, how can they not factor in inflation for federal aid funding? If they are going to make an argument they need to remain consistent, or else all trust is lost.

How can we trust what our state legislatures are telling us about why they find it necessary to increase tuition prices, if they are not even willing to give more money to students who are so eager to get an education that they are willing to pay it back for years to come?

To me it seems to be an issue of favorites. The state is supporting students who already have the means to pay for college, and is hindering students who are not as financial able. They are already making a lot of money off of student loans, a lot of money off of people who don’t have it to begin with.

If the state increases tuition for a fiscal school year, they need to adjust financial aid. If they cannot make this aid available, they need to keep tuition rates at a constant price.

The state of Iowa should find education as a top priority, and at least if they are going to fake it they need to do it all the way around. A state should be dedicated to breeding a more educated society, rather than making higher education a bigger struggle than it already is.

Students and parents must come together to rally against the state and help support those students in need!

#1

BLAME THE STATE

2005-11-06T12:50:00.000-06:00

What is the cause behind these tuition hikes? Who do we blame?

The State of Iowa.

Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack's proposition for this year's 4.3% increase is due to a slowdown in state revenues-and this is only the beginning.

This affects the quality of our public education as well as its price. Our TAs and RAs are getting cut which not only affects them but the students as well who are forced into over-crowded classrooms, which inhibits learning. "$13.5 million of this cut is to come from The University of Iowa. This follows the $18.7 million cut already approved by the State Legislature for the current year." (www.cogs.org/budget.htm)

UE Local 896/COGS is a group of hardworking people who are dedicated to representing the undergraduates and helping them receive a quality education at a minimal cost. This wonderful organization performs "world class" research in order to make the University of Iowa run smoothly.

COGS is a wonderful resource who stands for:-Affordable, quality education-Tying inflation to tuition increase when necessary-Making the necessary cuts in areas as to not hinder education-Cutting from the U of I budget administrator cost-Ununionizing employees and faculty at the University-Using the states "Raining Day" fund for education-Making a more balanced state tax policy

Let's fix our state taxes:

"Since 1987 the only taxes the state legislature has increased have been sales and fuel tax. Personal income and, more significantly, corporate tax rates have remained unchanged since 1987; corporate tax rates have not increased since 1981." (www.cogs.org/budget.htm)

Because of the public schools tuition increases across the state, we have been forced to find answers why. The Universities do not receive enough state funding. If the government could update their tax policies we could find the funding necessary in order to maintain current tuition prices,without diminishing the quality of education. They could also dip into their $500 million "Rainy Day" fund, that has been remained untouched.

Education should become a higher priority within the state of Iowa!

Why care?

2005-11-05T22:43:00.000-06:00

The cost of UI tuition is going to rise-it’s just a part of college. Like football games, or hangovers. Well, kind of. Football games are fun and make it OK to drink beer before noon and eat a huge turkey leg for breakfast. Rising UI tuition is more like hangovers-putting the thought off is easy, but the aftershock is both inevitable and painful. You’re not thinking about a hangover while taking ‘one more’ tequila shot at the bar, but then you wake up the next morning, head pounding, and run to the bathroom to puke up last night’s EasyMac (which also seemed worth it at the time...). Such is the case with tuition hikes. It’s easy to not think about it while we’re preoccupied with juggling school, work, and figuring out what we’re doing next weekend. But then our U-Bill comes (or our parents call us when they get it), and we immediately feel the chunks start to rise. Like in 2002, when tuition increased 18.5 percent and then 2003 when it shot up again (oh... but only 17.6 percent). We need to do something or our throats will keep burning. We can sleep/eat/walk/drink off a hangover, but sadly, we can’t earn back our tuition money by doing the same. But what is there to do, really, and what could we actually say that would make a difference? It’s just a bunch of old government people and stuff making these decisions, they don’t care about what the students have to say, right?
WRONG.

You should give a shit because:
1. It is YOUR (or your parents’) money.
2. Our money pays them, it is their job to work for us.
3. The University of Iowa is both economically and culturally important to Iowa City, Johnson County and the entire state of Iowa.
4. Iowa has always been praised for its top-notch elementary and secondary education. Education takes precedent in this state, and the trend should continue to post-secondary education. Iowa needs to put its money where its mouth is.
5. LITTLE will happen unless we speak up!

UI officials have congratulated the recently small tuition hikes, but who can guarantee that what happened in 2002 and 2003 won’t happen again? By raising our voices, we can help ensure that this year was not a fluke, and that we never again have to feel the sickening effects of a double digit tuition hike.

Take it from the Bowl Funds!!!

2005-11-04T22:57:00.000-06:00

Today’s DI mentioned that the increase in tuition would help stem faculty attrition. I can only assume the faculty are leaving because they aren’t getting paid enough. I’m all for providing funds to keep valuable faculty at the university. However, the funds don’t always have to come from a raise in tuition. Let’s think outside the box, shall we? This may not be a popular choice, but how about reallocating some of the money from the athletic department? After all, is this a school, a place for academics and research? Or is it simply a forum to provide the community with entertainment because there is no professional sports team to do so? The football team has done very well in the past few years. They make a lot of money in those bowl games. I don’t think the community really knows just how much. And probably for good reason. They would start asking questions. Perhaps a new policy should be implemented that a portion of the income from the most profitable sports at the university should go into a fund managed by the student government with insight from university officials. That way the student body would feel more involved, money wouldn’t be needed from outside sources, and maybe we could hold on to some of the people that make University of Iowa a place of higher learning.

Board of Regents Who?

2005-11-03T21:04:00.000-06:00

Until I became a college student, I thought the University was the only one responsible for setting tuition rates. Whenever the topic of tuition was mentioned, so was the Board of Regents. Frankly, I never sought to investigate the Board of Regents until now. I always assumed they were affiliated with the University of Iowa. Well, yes and no. Not in a strict sense. I found out that they have their own website and it was there I found out more about them. It took me quite some time to find out that the board is actually a group of nine citizen volunteers appointed by the governor who are then approved by the senate. I was really surprised by that. There are some stipulations for the board members. At least one member must be an undergraduate or graduate student at one of the state’s universities before the time of their appointment and no more than five members can be of the same political party. So…we have a bunch of “common” folk making decisions for us? Oh no…they have a staff to help them. However the role of the staff is described in vague terms. I reviewed the profiles of the regents. There are some lawyers, and people with very accomplished corporate careers, and the token student. There is only ONE person on the board with any sort of educational background. Something’s wrong here. I acknowledge that business and law are necessary when it comes to understanding and setting budgets, but what about having some more perspective when it comes to where the money is actually going? One out of a board of nine with an educational background is not enough!

H.C.Role2(that's how I'll sign it until I can get my own login)

University of Iowa Tuition Increases

2005-11-03T01:21:00.000-06:00

Current Tuition Rates

2005-11-02T22:02:00.000-06:00

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (full-time students)

Resident: $2,806 per semester
Non Resident: $8,499 per semester

Source: University of Iowa Office of the Registrar, Fall 2005 Spring 2006 Per-Semester Tuition and Fee Schedule
See full breakdown of tuition at http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/tuition/