Regents limit request for base state funding increase to UNI

For the first time in more than a decade, the state Board of Regents is seeking a base appropriation increase from the state for only one of its three campuses — the University of Northern Iowa.

The board’s proposed 2026 appropriations request — made public Tuesday, in advance of its meeting next week in Ames — does not include any increase in general education appropriations for the University of Iowa or Iowa State University, like it usually does.

Those universities do want tens of millions more in state support next year — but for “special purposes” and not just “general” education needs. For the University of Iowa, that includes a $10 million ask for a new “Rural Health Care Partnership” — which it hopes will continue and increase in subsequent years, culminating in a recurring $50 million appropriation.

The sole $2.5 million base increase the board is seeking for UNI would increase that campus’ general state aid 2.5 percent from $101.9 to $104.4 million — and allow it to keep its tuition rates below those of the UI and ISU.

“UNI is committed to access, quality and affordability for Iowans, and requests incremental funding of $2.5 million to support efforts to differentiate UNI tuition from that of research intensive universities,” according to a fiscal 2026 appropriations request the full Board of Regents will consider approving at its meeting next week. “The state’s investment is critical to keeping a four-year degree within reach for Iowans.”

Lawmakers in their last legislative session granted 2.5 percent increases to all three campuses’ base appropriations — amounting to a $5.5 million bump for the UI; $4.4 million boost for ISU; and $2.5 million increase for UNI.

That combined roughly $12.4 million more in general education funds fell shy of the $14.8 million the regents requested. But, by equally distributing a 2.5 percent increase across the three campus, lawmakers gave the UI more than the $4.5 million it requested; ISU about the same as its $4.5 million ask; and UNI less than half the $5.8 million increase it wanted.

Should lawmakers in the upcoming session grant UNI the $2.5 million increase it’s seeking in general aid, the state’s total higher education appropriations for its public universities would increase from $503.8 million to $506.3 million.

That would keep the state’s share of the regent universities’ total general education funding at about 29 percent — with tuition revenue accounting for a much larger 65 percent. In the early 1980s, those figures were flip-flopped — with appropriations accounting for 77 percent of the regents’ general education budget and tuition making up 21 percent, according to board documents.

And, although regents this year aren’t seeking gen ed appropriation increases for the UI or ISU, they are requesting nearly $20 million more for those campuses in “special purpose” dollars — plus another $2.6 million bump for UNI “special purpose units.”

UI special purpose

The UI’s special purpose — for which it wants $10 million in state support next year and tens of millions more in the coming years — is a “rural health care partnership” tied to its sprawling UI Health Care system and UI Carver College of Medicine.

“Rural health care in Iowa is at a critical juncture with low reimbursement rates, workforce challenges, and a rapidly aging population,” according to the appropriations request describing the mounting challenges of delivering high-quality, accessible care to Iowa’s rural communities.

In collaboration with lawmakers, according to the funding request, the university aims to establish a “dynamic and sustainable partnership to enhance access and improved health outcomes for Iowans.”

With a state investment of $10 million — and additional funding in subsequent years — — the university aims to expand Iowa’s health care workforce.

That expansion would include physicians, nurses and mental health counselors, and it would enhance health care delivery to rural Iowa — “particularly in the crucial areas of mental health, maternal health, and primary care.”

The extra money would increase the university’s ability to attract and retain top faculty and staff and make sure they have the technology, facilities and space needed to recruit and educate students angling to become the “next generation of providers.”

ISU special purpose

ISU is spreading its request for an extra $9.8 million in special purpose aid across several initiatives, including two new ones to increase veterinarians in the state and bolster Iowa’s manufacturing pipeline.

“Iowa manufacturing is at a crossroads,” according to the request. “Thriving demand for American-made products has grown Iowa manufacturing employment, wages and GDP. Yet, manufacturers struggle to find the talent they need to succeed.”

Among the ways Iowa is addressing manufacturing demands is by adopting “emerging technologies that allow manufacturers to expand output with their current workforce.”

But the shift in how products are made has created a new problem, according to ISU, which reported, “60 percent of rural Iowa manufacturers state that the lack of salaried technical workforce will inhibit their ability to grow over the next five years.”

Through a “MakeIowa” initiative, ISU intends to revitalize the manufacturing-technology pipeline by creating ways for students to learn and work, while also forging new pathways for employees across Iowa to upgrade their credentials.

The plan is to launch four manufacturing hubs — in partnership with regional educational institutions to capitalize on existing infrastructure.

“These hubs will upgrade existing manufacturing training centers to incorporate advanced technologies including sensors, vision systems, and AI tools to meet emerging needs of manufacturers.”

Regarding its push for more veterinarians supporting the food animal industry, ISU in 2023 launched a “veterinary early acceptance program.”

Aimed at recruiting future veterinarians and getting them ready to “thrive in a food animal focused practice in Iowa upon graduation,” ISU is providing scholarships — ensuring in-state tuition rates once the students enter the College of Veterinary Medicine. Upon graduation, students’ scholarships would be forgiven as long as they work in rural Iowa for five years.

UNI special purpose

UNI — in addition to its gen ed increase — is requesting $2.6 million for its community college collaboration and for a new Center for Civic Education, stemming from diversity, equity and inclusion mandates that lawmakers folded into law last session. Using $1 million in state support to launch the center, UNI aims to create a national model for “research, teaching, and public outreach in free speech and civic education.”

“It is established in response to a directive by the Board of Regents ‘to explore a proposal, including cost, to establish a widespread initiative that includes opportunities for education and research on free speech and civic education’,” according to its funding request. “The center would enhance civic education among university students, pre-K-12 students and teachers, and the broader public by developing and implementing effective civic learning strategies, encouraging respectful dialogue across differences, and offering educational resources on free speech and civic knowledge.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com