Freshmen starting in the fall 2004 semester will not have to guess the cost of the rest of their college tuition.

The Truth in Tuition Act, which was signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on July 22, states that students who enroll after the 2003-’04 academic year will have fixed tuition for four years.

At the last NIU Board of Trustees meeting, the board agreed that the fixed tuition rate will be for 4.5 consecutive years. The fixed rate is for tuition only – not any related fees or surcharges.

The tuition rate will be decided after the university finds out how much money it will get from the state.

Nolan Davis, assistant to President John Peters, said the university isn’t sure when it will know how much money it will receive from the state.

Melanie Magara, assistant vice president of Public Affairs, said setting a fixed tuition will require planning ahead and examining costs and inflation.

Over the past 10 years, NIU’s tuition has increased an average of 4.2 percent each year.

Magara said NIU typically has the lowest or one of the lowest tuition rates in Illinois.

Kenneth Zehnder, assistant director of State and Federal Relations, said the law was put into effect so college students and their parents could plan better financially. He also said there were concerns about the rising cost of tuition.

The law was written and sponsored by Rep. Kevin Joyce of the 35th District.

Joyce said he has heard of people who have had to drop out of school for a semester or a year because they couldn’t afford the increases.

Former Rep. David Wirsing also co-sponsored the bill. Joyce said he and Wirsing worked on the bill together.

At first, Joyce said, university presidents and representatives opposed the proposal but quickly changed their minds.

“When you first buy a house, you know the payments beforehand, so you know if you can afford it,” he said.

The university supported the law, Zehnder said.

Joyce said the legislature will take a second look at the law in four to five years to see how it is working out.

Illinois is the first state to have such a law.