Tuition must go up or services will be cut, say NIU officials, but students say they want more out of existing dollars and charge NIU is wasting money.

“There will be an increase or there will be a reduction of services,” NIU President John La Tourette said.

But cuts shouldn’t be made randomly, Student Association President Rob McCormack said.

“We are saying that a comprehensive study must be undertaken that will critically examine current university expenditures,” McCormack said. After that, NIU should cut outdated programs and services and “administrative bureaucracies which are bloated, inefficient and not useful.”

The Illinois Board of Higher Education recommended a 5 percent tuition increase. If that’s the case, tuition for a full-time NIU student would go from $857 to about $900. That does not include an increase in student fees.

La Tourette said raising tuition isn’t an easy decision to make, but there is little choice.

Mandated increases—7 percent in utilities, 12 percent for minimum wage, postage and continued increases in transportation—are only a few obstacles NIU must tackle, La Tourette said. Other costs will rise in general.

And if you forget those increases, and exclude the library which is looking at about a 15 percent increase in expenses, La Tourette said overall costs will rise about 4 percent.

Additionally, La Tourette said he hopes to give faculty and staff a “modest” salary increase, although he doesn’t know how much. The IBHE is recommending 7 percent.

To find the money, NIU is looking to cut costs in its own budget as well as the tuition hike. Departments will have to cut their budgets also, La Tourette said.

That’s why McCormack insists a comprehensive study is needed. He said he doesn’t care who does it, but increasing tuition has to be justified.

“It has not been demonstrated that the money that has been used thus far has been used efficiently and effectively,” McCormack said.

As an example, McCormack points to NIU’s plans to study the budget in early March at an expensive Rockford hotel. NIU officials decided not to go after being bombarded with criticism for spending money in Rockford during times of a budget crunch.

“Luckily, this little trip being discovered and public pressure being brought … they cancelled the trip,” McCormack said. “I just question how many other things go undiscovered.”

Some savings might be found in lower enrollment, La Tourette said. But even so, NIU’s overall belt will have to be tightened and students, faculty and staff will feel the pressure.

“I think there is a lot of pressure on the part of students not to raise tuition,” La Tourette said. “But on the other hand, if we’re not able to raise tuition on a modest basis and do some budget reallocation, we’re going to have some very severe financial, enrollment and program problems.

“Students will not be able to get classes. There will be a reduction in student employment because we will not be able to cover any of that wage increase. It would be a very severe situation.”

To help ease the pressures a tuition increase would bring, Gov. Jim Edgar recommended an increase in state money available for scholarships.

“Sometimes students look at it from only one perspective—‘I’m going to pay higher tuition,'” La Tourette said. “Well, 60 percent of our students are on some kind of financial aid. So some might pay the full amount, but many will only pay part of it.”

“But on the other hand, if they are working as student employees and we don’t have the increase in tuition, they may find they would lose a job. So it comes around one way or another.”