NIU will guarantee set tuition rates for incoming freshmen for a period of four years and one extra semester, placing the university in compliance with state guidelines.

“We don’t know what the impact of the freeze will be yet,” said Ivan Legg, executive vice president and provost. “We will have to plan around that.”

Western Illinois University in Macomb will not be affected by the state compliance guidelines because WIU has had a tuition guarantee in place for five years.

Charles Gilbert, director of institutional research and planning for WIU, said WIU has not seen a reduction in revenue since the tuition guarantee went into effect.

“Revenues from the state have gone down, so you do lose money,” Gilbert said, “but not because you have a tuition guarantee.”

WIU started its tuition freeze in fall 1999. It locks students into the rates they start with for four to five years, depending on the courses recommended for their particular program. Students also are locked into the room and board rates and student fees they started with.

For example, if a student signs up for classes as a freshman in 2000, the 2000 rates are guaranteed until 2004. If the student does not complete the program by 2004, his or her rates would go up to the 2002 rates.

“You got four or five rates going at the same time,” Gilbert said. “Roughly one-third of our students are at the current year’s tuition rates, so there is no reason to make large increases in tuition.”

Although WIU’s tuition guarantee was the model used for the state law, requiring all public universities to guarantee rates may not be in the best interests of the students, Gilbert said.

“Absolutely, it does not keep the costs of higher education down. It just keeps rates predictable,” Gilbert said. “I think universities should cater to the needs of their students.”