Despite a lack of funds for higher education from the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. James Thompson, the Board of Regents were not asked to raise tuition rates for the fall.

Regents must try to find other funding avenues today and Thursday during their meeting at NIU. The Regents govern NIU, Illinois State University in Normal and Sangamon State University at Springfield.

The legislature approved a 1.7 percent increase, or $33.4 million, for the higher education budget in Fiscal Year 1991. Public universities will receive $28.4 million, or a 2.1 percent increase.

Senate Resolution 205 is the main reason the board was not asked to raise tuition rates, according to the Regents’ Chancellor’s Report.

The resolution creates a Joint Committee on College Tuition, consisting of four legislative members, four students and four members of the university governing boards to study the undergraduate tuition policy at state colleges and universities. The committee is scheduled to report to the General Assembly by Jan. 9.

If the board does not find a way to make up for the funds allocated, NIU students and their parents might have to make up for the difference in FY92.

But Board Chairman Brewster Parker said, “We never know, maybe something will happen.”

“Everyone’s disappointed,” said board member Sylvia Nichols. The legislature’s limited funding might result in students and parents paying for it in the long run, she said.

Regents also will discuss the budget for FY92 including a possible 9.5 percent increase in faculty salaries.