State board approves tuition increases for four-year institutions

The new per-year total cost to attend the University of Idaho is $9,084, and this story has been updated from its original version to reflect that

Idaho public university students will see another tuition increase this year as the state’s four-year institutions all face a predicted structural budget deficit.

The State Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved 3% tuition increases at Boise State University, Idaho State University, University of Idaho and Lewis-Clark State College. Last year, the board approved 5% tuition increases, which marked the first increase in three years.

The state board held two meetings Wednesday and Thursday in Moscow, during which they also discussed UI’s continued interest in buying the University of Phoenix and began discussions about the process of creating new minimum instructional day requirements for school districts under the newly passed HB 521.

TUITION INCREASES

In presentations Thursday, officials from the four schools all indicated that while the Legislature had approved an increase to employee compensation, it did not fully fund the shift. Everyone noted other ways the institutions tried to make budget cuts, but said that the tuition increase would go toward closing the gap.

BSU’s tuition would rise $133 per semester for resident undergraduates, to a total of $9,048 in annual tuition and fees.

BSU Chief Financial and Operating Officer Alicia Estey said the university is expecting a $6.6 million budget gap next year due to unfunded change in employee compensation and inflationary factors. The tuition increase would generate about $3 million in added revenue to go toward the gap.

State Board member Cally Roach asked about the remaining $3 million.

“We will, I believe, find other ways to cover that gap,” Estey responded. “We’ll spend less if we need to, to make sure that we maintain a balanced budget.”

The university has already made progress in reducing its budget shortfall; at the end of fiscal year 2023, there was a $15 million structural deficit; a structural deficit means the budget gap would persist if the economy were to steadily grow to full employment.

ISU has been dealing with a structural deficit, and has made progress in recent years. The university said the deficit was created years ago when the institution saw a decrease in international student enrollment.

In January 2023, the university launched a budget optimization and budget deficit plan.

Jennifer Steele, vice president for finance and university of planning, said the university had reduced the deficit by more than half to approximately $6.5 million, and is on track to be balanced in the next couple of years.

The gap in the legislative appropriation for change in employee compensation is anticipated to create about a $2.5 million gap, she said.

The increase would raise tuition $127 for resident undergrads to a total of $8,610 per year.

ISU has a tuition lock program, in which qualifying Idaho freshmen can freeze their tuition rate for four years if they continue to meet minimum grade-point average and credit requirements

The University of Idaho resident undergraduate students will see a $108 per semester increase to a total of $9,084 per year.

The increase is expected to bring in $2.8 million in added revenue, which would go toward the change in employees compensation and benefits.

LCSC will see a $110 per semester increase to a total of $7,610 per year. The revenue would go toward employee compensation as well as inflationary adjustments for operating costs, such as fuel, IT contracts, and utility fees.

LCSC President Cynthia Pemberton said she’s “proud of how fiscally careful we have been.”

UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX AND UI

At Wednesday’s meeting, the state board also met in its role as the governing board of trustees of UI and briefly discussed the ongoing consideration and process of trying to purchase the University of Phoenix.

Over the legislative session there were hearings, legal opinions, proposed legislation and lengthy debates over the proposed transaction. All of this has delayed the planned acquisition, which had been targeted to happen at the end of may, but hasn’t quite killed it, said UI President C. Scott Green.

“We do believe there are a couple different paths available,” Green told the board. “... there is a desire to continue with the process.”

He said he’s meeting with Phoenix and the seller, Apollo Group, to look into which path is best. Green didn’t elaborate what the options may be.

Green said there was “a lot of political maneuvering” and new information to wade through, but he believes with the added time he can provide clarification to legislators that may ease their concerns.

He told the board it would have “an opportunity to weigh in on that fairly shortly,” and that “discussions are ongoing.”

Lawmakers questioned the university and state board’s move to create a nonprofit entity for the purpose of bonding to make the $685 million deal; these questions centered on if there should have been legislative approval and if the board exceeded its constitutional and statutory authority.

State board member Kurt Liebich said he was still supportive of the planned deal and thought that it would resolve issues of concern for the board, including an expected enrollment drop and need to improve online learning. He said he was “disappointed” with how the legislative session ended up on the issue.

“I share your vision in terms of why that strategic move was so important to this institution and to the state of Idaho to deal with all the strategic issues that we’ve been talking about as a board,” Liebich told Green.

HB 521

Another result of the legislative session was HB 521, a complicated school facilities funding bill that will make available $1 billion to school districts for maintenance but comes with some requirements and changes.

Under the new bill, the state board is tasked with creating new minimum instructional day or hour requirements. School districts that are seeking to get funds will have to attest to meet the new requirements, which must be adopted by Aug. 1 and implemented no sooner than July 1, 2025.

These were originally aimed at districts operating on a four-day week, but a follow-up trailer bill changed it so that every district would need to attest to meeting the new requirements.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said the Department of Education plans to bring back information about other minimum instructional requirements as meetings will begin regarding the new requirements. Right now, Idaho requires grades nine through 12 to meet a minimum of 990 hours a year, grades four through eight 900 hours, grades one through three 810 hours, and kindergarten must meet 450 hours.

Districts must also submit a 10-year facility plan to access the new funds. Department of Education Chief of Staff Greg Wilson said the department is planning to host webinars on building maintenance, construction and budgeting. The department also plans to create best practices for the 10-year plan and a process for prioritizing the greatest needs.

“I think our intent with four webinars and several pieces of supplementary manuals and documents that we will provide is … to make sure that they’re utilizing this money as efficiently as possible and they’re very much prioritizing what their local priorities are when it comes to facilities,” Wilson said. “... This is a significant amount of money, but the need out there is greater than that billion dollars.”

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on X @EyeOnBoiseGuido.