Andrea Diaz
Staff Writer
Idaho State University will be implementing a new tuition policy that means in-state undergraduate students will not have their tuition increased starting next fall semester. Once you have registered for your freshman year the tuition that was set for that year would be what you paid for the rest of your undergraduate career.
“It is absolutely imperative that we do all we can to make higher education within reach for more Idahoans. When we make tuition affordable, increase access to scholarships, and push for efficiencies at the universities, the result is a strengthened workforce and more opportunities for Idahoans to improve their lives,” said Governor Brad Little.
This tuition policy is not currently applicable to graduate students, however the Idaho State Board of Education is set to have a meeting in April to discuss graduate tuition and other fees.
Overall, the state of Idaho has been ranked thirty-ninth in the nation when it comes to education. “To determine the state’s education score, Kids Count looked at measures like how many children ages 3-4 are not in school, proficiency in reading and math and the number of students not graduating on time,” according to IDEDNews.org.
Idaho is ranked well in a lot of things such as family and community, economic well being, and even health. However, education is where Idaho is ranked the lowest. This is a problem that the Idaho elected and school officials are working together to try and improve Idaho’s education.
According to USNews.com only thirty-six percent of Idaho is college educated as opposed to Massachusetts which has the highest percentage of college graduates that have an associates degree or higher at 50.4%.
The reason only a small percentage of Idahoans are college educated is due to the high cost of tuition and other fees. In 2018 former governor Butch Otter put forth some ideas and reccomendations to improve this number.
“Some ideas will come up during the final weeks of the 2018 legislative session — such as a proposal to put an additional $5 million into college scholarships,” Otter said.
Latinos and American Indians are less likely to get a college degree with only 12.7% and 20% having some sort of higher education degree.
“State Board of Education President Debbie Critchfield said the presidents “made good on a pledge” made last spring to work with the Board to contain tuition costs. “This will result in serious budget strains on all of our campuses, but I applaud the presidents and trust their skills as administrators to find ways to balance the need for quality education while taking this step to help preserve access and affordability for Idaho students,” said Critchfield.
“Students in Idaho deserve an education. They deserve an education that is going to challenge them as individuals, inspire them to make positive change in our communities, and ultimately an education that will better their life. Every student that would like to pursue that, should have the opportunity,” said Idaho State University President Kevin Satterlee.
