Students might be faced with another tuition increase, if the Illinois General Assembly does not approve a tax increase necessary for higher education funding for fiscal year 1989.

Board of Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said, “If we get no additional funding, tuition has to be something we will take a look at.” However, he said the Regents “like to keep tuition as reasonably low as they can control.”

NIU President John LaTourette said in FY87 students paid 24.5 percent of the costs at NIU, which is placing a greater burden on the students instead of the state. “We need to convince the legislature to restore the balance by reducing the percentage the students are paying and increasing the budget that will cover our needs,” he said.

LaTourette said the state has gotten a “bargain” with higher education. He said NIU’s tuition and room and board fees are $1600 less than the national average of $5700.

“In a sense, we have done very well in keeping costs down for the students and parents, ” LaTourette said.

Rep. John Countryman, R-DeKalb, said, “NIU, compared to the University of Illinois, gives the taxpayers a better deal for their money.” He said the state should not shift costs to the students.

Jim Fischer, NIU Student Association President, said this year’s $150 tuition increase placed a greater burden on the students and made tuition less affordable. He also said the Regents did not use any type of formula or guidelines when they raised tuition this year. “I think when tuition is not based on anything, it is not right,” Fischer said.

The Illinois Student Association is working on the development of a statewide tuition formula, Fischer said. He said the formula could be based on various indexes such as the higher education price index or the consumer price index.

The ISA will be considering all types of possibilities in March in order to create a system, he said. “Cost increases have been significant over the years and I think that tuition is too high.”

Fisher said he found it “interesting” that the resolution passed by the Regents Jan. 21 in support of the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s FY89 budget recommendations, and the push for a tax increase did not mention anything about not raising tuition.

The resolution did include provisions for increasing faculty salaries on campus, which LaTourette said is a main priority at NIU. “I think that it (raising faculty salaries) is certainly important, but I don’t think you can make that the number one priority on campus,” Fischer said.

The IBHE did not include a tuition increase in its FY89 budget recommendations, Groves said. However, he said Richard Wagner, IBHE executive director, said if there is no additional funding, “we have got some hard choices in front of us.”