Meeting July 27 in Ames, the state Board of Regents unanimously approved a 4.25% tuition increase this fall for undergraduate and graduate students at Iowa State. Excluding differential tuitions, that translates to a:
- $354 annual tuition increase for resident undergraduates, to $8,678
- $432 increase for resident graduate students, to $10,572
- $1,026 increase for nonresident undergraduates, to $25,162
- $1,092 increase for nonresident graduates, to $26,776
Tuition for ISU's professional veterinary medicine students will go up 5% (a $1,258 increase) for residents and 3.5% ($1,938) for nonresidents.
The mandatory student fee package is increasing $145 (11%), to $1,455, primarily to support the increased costs of providing services to students. The increase is derived from increases of $70 (24%) to the technology fee, $24 (9%) to the health fee, $21 (8%) to the student services fee (for CyRide operations), and $30 (9%) to the recreation fee. Most students will pay between 4.5% and 5% more this fall for their combined tuition and mandatory fees.
The tuition and mandatory fee increases will generate an estimated $21.8 million in additional revenue for Iowa State's general fund operating budget. They reflect the board's 2018 tuition guardrails that allow flexibility in setting rates according to state operating appropriations and the projected Higher Education Price Index. Iowa State sought more than $8.7 million in incremental funding from the 2022 Legislature, and received just over $2.1 million in new operating support.
Simplifying differential tuition
With a final differential tuition increase this fall for sophomores in ag systems technology, industrial technology and Engineering majors, Iowa State is completing a multiyear effort to simplify dozens of differential tuition rates into two categories. For resident undergraduates this fall, the two differentials are $1,794 and $2,928.
The regents approved Iowa State's first differential tuition requests for the 2006-07 school year to cover higher costs of instruction. More requests followed in subsequent years. In June 2018, Iowa State proposed its two-tier differential tuition structure.
