Iowa House Democrats introduce bill to tackle rising tuition rates

Avery Dettvarn didn’t realize just how expensive her college dreams were until she began the application process.

She said at a press conference Wednesday that she felt her heart break when her high school counselor said she wouldn’t be able to attend college if she couldn’t afford to fill the gaps left after seeking out public and private loans, financial aid and scholarships in order to pay for her tuition.

Now a University of Iowa second-year student, Dettvarn accepted a loan from a family member to help achieve her dream because no relatives had a credit score high enough to co-sign for a private loan. Not everyone can receive the same support she did, she said. She came to the Capitol to advocate for students who have struggled with tuition and fees, and to show her support for legislation that would keep costs from crawling even higher over the course of their college career.

“Young Iowan adults are struggling to pursue their collegiate dreams because of the high and rising tuition prices, and this bill would directly impact these students and allow us to follow our dreams without the additional financial stress,” Dettvarn said. “Iowa’s young adults deserve the fundamental right to education and this bill is what we as students need to help our success and our future.”

A bill introduced Wednesday by Iowa House Democrats would stop incoming college students at Iowa’s public universities from seeing their tuition and fees hiked year over year and would offer the institutions additional funding so they’re less dependent on tuition dollars.

House File 2352 would freeze tuition and mandatory fees for Iowa students admitted to the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University between July 2024 and July 2028, ensuring they pay the same amount the first four years of their undergraduate study. The bill would not bar the universities from raising tuition and fees each year, but it would lock in the amount that the students paid their first year. It would not apply to graduate students or undergraduates attending school from out of state.

The bill also would require the legislature to appropriate enough money to keep the universities’ budgets stable without the additional tuition they’d collect if the freeze wasn’t implemented, said Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, at a press conference announcing the legislation.

Students and their families are struggling to afford the cost of higher education in Iowa as tuition and fees continue to increase and state funding does not, Zabner said.

“We want to make sure we’re still fully funding public education in the state,” Zabner said. “But we also want to make sure that … every Iowa family can make the choice to send their students to college if that’s what they want to do.”

Zabner said that around 433,000 Iowans have student loan debt that averages out to more than $30,000. Last year lawmakers appropriated less funding for state universities than they did in 1999, and in 2000 tuition rates at the University of Iowa totaled just under $1,500, compared to the more than $10,000 today.

According to Iowa Board of Regents data, when the new millennium began state appropriations accounted for more than 60% of regent university general education funding, and tuition made up around 30%. Today, in fiscal year 2024, those numbers have flipped, with state appropriations covering almost 30% of funding and tuition accounting for almost 65%.

Students are bearing the burden of education funding right now, Zabner said, and that’s why it’s important to ensure the universities are receiving adequate funding.

As the Iowa Capital Dispatch previously reported, universities raised tuition for undergraduate students by 3.5% last June, following a 4.25% increase for the 2022-23 school year and varied increases in 2021.

Iowa House Republicans have introduced legislation that would cap tuition and fee increases at 3%, rather than freeze it for each new class.

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst said the lawmakers who introduced the legislation want the tuition freeze to be “neutral” for the universities so they can avoid underfunded programs. The state has been underfunding the Iowa Board of Regents and the institutions it governs, she said, making them play catch up by relying more heavily on tuition dollars.

“There’s nothing left to cut at these institutions, they keep leaning on tuition.” Konfrst said. “They don’t want to do this, either. They would like it to be a better balance.”

This bill is part of the Iowa Democratic lawmaker’s People over Politics agenda, which includes initiatives to lower costs for Iowans, protect reproductive freedom, support public education and legalize recreational marijuana for adults. Konfrst said other ideas they have proposed to lower costs for Iowa students is to extend and expand the Iowa Sales Tax Holiday, raise the minimum wage to $15 and promote affordable housing.

When asked whether the lawmakers had plans to help students attending private universities or community colleges, Konfrst said they are continuing to look at ways of supporting those students, including “defending” the Iowa Tuition Grant program.

“Today we’re focused on regents institutions, but absolutely, we want to make college affordable for everybody,” Konfrst said. “We’re going to handle those separately.”

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