DeKALB | NIU students can expect a tuition hike for the seventeenth straight year this fall if the Board of Trustees approves a recommendation from its finance committee.

The BOT finance committee approved a proposal that would increase tuition by 10.8 percent, which would make a 15-credit-hour load cost $6,150 for new undergraduates if the BOT approves the measure Thursday.

If approved, the increase would be the second straight double-digit percentage increase. Last year, tuition rose by 10 percent. The BOT has raised in-state tuition costs each year since 1991.

“All of these tuition increases are connected to the fact that our state appropriations have fallen short over the years,” said Eddie Williams, NIU’s vice president of finance and facilities.

Even taking into account inflation costs, the cost of tuition and room and board have risen steadily over the past 30 years, but have accelerated since the early 1990s. Officials say the increases are necessary because of a decrease in state funding.

In 1991, NIU received 72 percent of its funds from the state – that figure was 51.4 percent in 2006. Since 1991, the there have been three years in which the state provided a slight increase in funding, but all were less than one percent increases.

“We’ve seen the state funding stabilize over the last two fiscal years,” Williams said. “Instead of reductions, we’ve seen a steady state. There was a slight increase in 2007 – a modest increase. We’re hoping that the legislature becomes even more sensitive to the funding for higher education and that the governor would further share in that.”

Williams pointed out that NIU’s tuition costs rank seventh out of 12 state schools.

“From a market perspective, Northern’s costs for a student are very competitive among the middle-of-the-road state institutions,” Williams said. “Our board has been very sensitive to affordability so that students who have need can come to college. We’re trying to find ways, both internally and externally to help with scholarships and funding.”

The Board of Trustees approved an increase in room and board rates by about 13 percent and a 5.5 percent increase in student fees in March.

In 2004, the state legislature passed the Truth in Tuition Act, which guaranteed a set tuition rate for eight semesters to all undergraduates enrolling after 2004.

Since the act’s passage, tuition hikes have been higher because only incoming students will be affected by the increase.