The Regency universities are debating a possible tuition freeze for the 1990-91 school year.

Brian Hopkins, student Regent for Sangamon State University at Springfield, introduced a proposal at the December Board of Regents meeting calling for a tuition freeze at Regency universities, including NIU. He said he will ask for a formal endorsement from the board at their March meeting at NIU.

“There is simply no reason to raise tuition this year,” Hopkins said. The Board of Regents governs NIU, SSU and Illinois State University in Normal.

Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves called the tuition freeze “dangerous” because the board has little control over state legislation and education funding.

“I can understand why students want a tuition freeze, but it might be more effective for students to lobby the state legislators,” said Anne Kaplan, executive assistant to NIU President John La Tourette.

Hopkins said if the Regents endorse a freeze, they would not be bound to it and could raise tuition at any time.

“If a freeze is endorsed, students could be reasonably assured that tuition will not increase. The board would look very foolish if it went back on its’ word,” he said.

However, Groves said it would be foolish for the board to adopt a freeze without “reliable indications” that the universities would receive the necessary funding.

If a freeze is endorsed and NIU does not receive enough money, students will suffer because services will be limited, Kaplan said.

Gov. James Thompson is scheduled to release his budget on March 7. “So far the statements from the governor’s office have not been good, but we’ll have to wait and see,” Groves said.

Students at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana are calling on their Board of Trustees, the governing body for U of I in Champaign and Chicago, to freeze tuition for the upcoming year and establish long-term tuition guidelines.

Hopkins said if a tuition freeze is adopted by the U of I board, other boards likely will follow.