The University of Idaho released its initial notice of planned increases to student fees and tuition for the 2019-2020 academic year Wednesday.
According to the notice, tuition and fees would increase by $632 annually for in-state undergraduate students and $2,560 for out-of-state undergraduate students. These changes would first need to be approved by the Idaho State Board of Education before going into effect.
Full-time students currently pay $564.27 in total fees per semester. Those fees would increase by $18.32 per semester if the plan is approved. Meanwhile, tuition alone would increase $297.68 for full-time resident undergraduates per semester and $1,261.68 for full-time non-resident undergraduates.
The largest fee increase for full-time students would come from facilities, with a planned $15 hike per semester per student next academic year. ASUI President Nicole Skinner said this additional $15 would directly apply to the construction of the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena.
Out of the current $395.81 facilities fee, $15 already goes to the Arena, Skinner said. Starting next academic year, students could see a total $30 of their semester fees to go directly to the construction of the multipurpose facility.
Michael Perry, who has worked on the fundraising and planning of the Arena, said this additional bump, if approved, would greatly help the university in hitting its $46 million fundraising goal. The current $15 student fee proved insufficient once construction costs began to rise, he said.
Perry said the new fees could bring the fundraising total to $43 million.
Brian Foisy, vice president for finance, said the $43 million is spread out across a multitude of factors, including current fees and committed contributions from donors which might not be secured until construction begins.
In a statement attached to the notice, UI President Chuck Staben wrote the proposal will be presented during an open forum 3:30 p.m. April 4 in the Commons Whitewater and Clearwater rooms. According to Staben, this will be an opportunity to “obtain final university reaction to our proposal.”
The proposal will then be sent to the UI Board of Regents for a planned April 17 meeting.
Neither the fee breakdown nor the statement from Staben named the ICCU Arena, the planned replacement for Memorial Gym and Cowan Spectrum as the home court of Idaho basketball. According to the ICCU Arena website, the university plans to debut the facilities for either the 2020 or 2021 basketball season.
“The overall fee proposal will provide approximately $7.2 million in additional gross tuition revenues over FY2019 budget that are essential to help the university maintain and improve programs, and invest in areas necessary for a vibrant future,” Staben wrote. “Increases in fee revenues will likewise provide funding needed to support student services and activities, and to increase university-funded scholarship and waiver programs.”
Full-time resident graduate tuition would increase by $374 a semester, while full-time nonresident graduates would pay an additional $1,338 a semester if the plan is approved.
The Argonaut will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill
Ashleigh Bright
So, I'm surprised the headline is that a $15 arena fee is being charged. Tuition increases of 8% and 10% are pretty massive.