AIB to return deposits to roughly 170 students

IOWA CITY - AIB College of Business in Des Moines is returning deposits to about 170 students who were accepted for the fall 2015 semester before administrators last month announced plans to close the school and gift the campus to University of Iowa.

The non-profit private college also is notifying those students by letter that AIB no longer is enrolling a 2015-2016 freshmen class. Administrators in January announced plans to give the 20-acre AIB campus worth $30 million to $40 million to UI, and last week they clarified details around the transaction - including that current AIB students must complete their programs by June 2016 or transfer.

According to the updated proposal, AIB in July 2016 will become a Regional Regents Center operated by UI, and any AIB students wanting to take courses at the center must meet admission criteria for transfer students.

Officials at first said AIB would become a satellite UI campus and all AIB students would become UI students - possibly as soon as fall 2015. They also vowed to honor all scholarships but later updated that information, saying scholarships for AIB students and athletes only will be honored through June 2016.

Before AIB's announcement in January, about 400 students had applied for the fall 2015 semester, and all - both admitted and not admitted students - are being notified electronically of the changes at AIB, said spokeswoman Jane Schorer Meisner.

AIB did not reveal how much total deposit money is being returned to admitted students, but the college's tuition and fees materials for the 2015-2016 academic year indicates a $100 tuition deposit is due after a student is notified of acceptance. An additional $200 housing deposit is due with housing applications, according to the materials.

AIB's current enrollment is around 1,000 students, and 136 are expected to finish their degrees is May. More than 330 students are eligible to participate in commencement - some students finished their programs before May, but the school only holds one graduation event a year.

Last fall, AIB enrolled 148 freshmen.

Meisner said it's unknown at this time how many AIB students will remain on campus during the 2015-2016 school year, as some of the students who completed associate degrees this year will stay on as AIB students working toward bachelor's degrees.

UI officials are meeting with AIB students Thursday to discuss transfer options. The university also has created working groups to manage the transition. Those groups will discuss possible programming and course offerings for the campus, which could include Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa classes.