Hunter
05/19/24
The Iowa Board of Regents has approved a rate increase for the residence halls at all three state-run universities.
The Gazette reports or the upcoming fall, rates for the most popular double room and meal plan will increase 6 percent at Iowa State University, 5 percent at the University of Iowa and 3.5 percent at UNI.
Officials at all three schools cited inflation, inadequate staffing, and previous increases not keeping up with costs for the necessity of the large increases.
This will be the UI’s first five percent increase since 2008. They also have the highest projected occupancy rate among the three universities this fall, at 97.9 percent. The university recently announced that they’ve officially taken Mayflower Residence Hall off the market and plan to use it to house students for at least the next five years. Over $50 million in capital improvements are planned during that span, including renovation of Hillcrest Hall. Officials also plan to convert all the remaining community restrooms in the residence halls to single-user restrooms.
Returning students are already facing a 3% tuition increase, as well as fee bumps.