Board of Regents approves 5 percent tuition increase

Students at Nebraska universities may have to start pinching a few more pennies to pay for their education due to the 5 percent tuition increase the Board of Regents passed during its meeting Friday.

"I'd love it if we had a zero percent increase budget to work with," North Platte Regent Bob Phares said. "It's just not realistic."

Despite the increase in tuition, when it comes to education costs, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has been in the bottom to lower third of universities in the Big 12 and is in the bottom of the Big Ten.

"It's still 19 percent lower than what our average peers are," said Regent Jordan Gonzalez, the University of Nebraska at Kearney student body president.

Regent Timothy Clare of Lincoln said he will have children who will be students at UNL in the fall but still voted to pass the increase.

"I'll bear the brunt of tuition increases, and I still think it's the best deal out there," he said.

 While 5 percent might not look like a lot on paper, Elizabeth O'Connor, student regent for University of Nebraska at Omaha, said over the years students will feel the difference of this increase.

"Education is important, and I know students are working hard to afford it," she said.

For students who receive need-based financial aid for school, Regent Bob Whitehouse, chairman of the board, said the tuition increase also raises that aid.

"Those in greatest need will remain unharmed by this budget," he said.

Lane Carr, student regent and Association of Students of the University of Nebraska president, attended the meeting and can identify with how students feel about tuition increases.

"As a student, it's very hard to do cartwheels over any tuition increase," he said, adding it's a priority to make sure it's possible for students to attend college. "I thank everyone in keeping the tuition increase as low as they can."

During its meeting Friday, the regents also approved the construction of a new suite-style residence hall at 18th/19th and R streets to replace UNL's traditional-style Cather and Pound halls. The $79 million project will begin construction in January and is set to open in June 2014.

"Renovation would only add a few years' life to Cather and Pound, and it wasn't cost-effective," Phares said.

Whitehouse said he has talked with parents of students who have lived in Cather and Pound and recognized areas for improvement.

"There's a definite need, and has been," he said. "The timing is perfect."

Although Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons, Neb., agrees it is important to offer nicer housing that meets student demands, he said traditional, more affordable housing is also needed.

"Not everybody can afford what others demand," he said.

His main concern is that it might not be wise to convert everything to suite-style residence halls. The key, he said, is having a range of types of residence halls; he did, however, vote yes to approve the budget for the new residence hall.

"I supported this because it was the most practical way to address the deteriorating Cather and Pound halls," he said.

A third item the board approved was a program statement and budget for the East Campus Recreation Center, as well as a budget for the Outdoor Adventures Center. Last fall, students approved a facilities improvement program with 72 percent of the vote, which would be funded by an increase in student fees.

LJ McElravy, chairman of the ASUN Wellness Ad Hoc Committee and UNL graduate student in human sciences, said the university's wellness facilities lag in many aspects.

"Many students don't use the East Campus Rec Center because of its dilapidated state," he said. "Students have strongly voiced their willingness to fund these projects."

Construction for the new $15 million recreation center on East Campus is set to begin in October and will open in February 2014. A new outdoor recreation center will come to UNL's City Campus in 2013.

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