Idaho colleges

The big battle will center on the four-year schools: Boise State University, the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College. After JFAC agrees on a number, the higher ed budget will have to get through the House — where hardline conservatives are poised to continue a fight that began last legislative session. It took three tries to get a higher ed budget through the House in 2020, and that’ll work if you’re looking for an over-under for the 2021 legislative endgame.

The University of Idaho will have to cut employees and cut programs in order to erase tens of millions of dollars in budget shortfalls, President C. Scott Green said Monday. Green didn't go into details about where the cuts might come — but he said he is committed to getting the university’s budget back in line by 2022.

For the first time in at least four decades, Idaho is freezing college and university tuition. The one-year freeze will go into effect next school year — and it covers in-state undergraduate students at Idaho’s four-year institutions.