Student fees to increase at Idaho universities
Apr. 21—The Idaho State Board of Education unanimously voted to increase mandatory student fees at four-year institutions during a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday afternoon.
Some fee hikes were larger than others. At Boise State University, student fees will increase by $304, while at Lewis-Clark State College the fees will increase by $14. The University of Idaho requested student fees increase by $56, bringing undergraduate tuition and fees at the school to $8,396 for the 2022-23 academic year.
Earlier this year, the State Board voted to allow students to opt out of fees supporting certain activities, clubs and organizations. The fees, called mandatory consolidated fees, support everything from student government to intramural sports.
LCSC student body president Caden Massey said many students are concerned about how the opt-out policy will affect campus life.
"It's definitely not a good thing, but we're optimistic and we're going to play with the hand dealt," Massey said. "We've done our best to inform students of what's going on, because when you hear that, it's a little scary but we're reassuring them that it's going to be OK. It is a concern, but we're going to work through it."
While mandatory student fees will increase, the presidents of Idaho's four-year institutions pledged not to raise tuition for undergraduate residents for the third consecutive year. The State Board approved the tuition freeze Wednesday with a unanimous vote.
The State Board, convening on the University of Idaho's campus for the first time in three years, also heard updates from UI President Scott Green on enrollment and fundraising efforts.
Green said the university recently welcomed the largest freshman class since 2016.
"Our enrollment continues to trend in the right direction," Green said. "In 2021, total enrollment was up nearly 5% and new student enrollment was up more than 16%. Our graduate student enrollment increased 8.2%, excluding our professional degrees in law and medicine."
He added that applications for fall 2022 have risen 34% and admissions are up 18% compared with the same time last year. UI also had a record year for fundraising, with nearly $100 million in donations to student scholarship and success programs.
At the meeting, Green noted the university's quest to achieve the highest rank for research activity, called R1 Carnegie Classification. The prestigious status is enjoyed by Washington State University, along with Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other high-ranking schools across the country.
UI is currently classified as an R2 institution, same as Idaho State University and BSU.
"We are a university on the rise," Green said. "We converge this spring financially stronger and with more momentum than when we entered the pandemic."
The State Board also approved a request from the university to offer Associate of Science degrees in forest nursery management and technology, forest operations and technology, and wildland fuel and fire technology.
UI is currently the only higher education institution in Idaho that doesn't offer associate degrees.
Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.
