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State Board endorses tuition bill
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The Idaho State Board of Education endorsed a bill Thursday that would allow Boise State University, Idaho State University, and Lewis-Clark State College to charge tuition fees.
The bill would repeal Idaho Code that states higher educational institutes cannot use student fees to pay for instructional costs. Under the new law, universities will be able to charge tuition fees to cover instructional and other costs that were previously paid with matriculation fees.
Dr. Marilyn Howard, state superintendent of public instruction and ex-officio voting board member, voted against the endorsement.
Dr. Howard, Idaho’s only Democrat elected in a statewide vote, said she voted no because students were left out of the decision making process between the state board, university administrators and the state legislature.
"I still sense not just their (students) concern… but their lack of trust in whether this will actually come out in the end as being to their benefit," Howard said.
State board president Rod Lewis noted to Howard the Jan. 24 board meeting in which student leaders from Idaho’s universities got to provide input on the issue of tuition fees.
"It is my opinion that this is a change that will be helpful to them (colleges and universities). The purpose of this legislation is not to increase student fees, that is not to say that their will not be an increase this year," Lewis said.
Soon after, the ASBSU Senate passed a resolution asking for safeguards to protect Boise State students from paying higher fees than the University of Idaho since they cannot charge tuition fees for instruction. In order for U of I to do so, a constitutional amendment would be required. The tuition bill now moves on to the state legislature.
Randall Post
Assistant News Editor