Iowa State remains largest university in Iowa

AMES - Iowa State University announced Wednesday that it remains the largest public university in Iowa for the second straight year, with another record enrollment of 34,732 students for the fall semester.

ISU's total enrollment is up 4.5 percent or 1,491 students over last year, setting a record for the sixth consecutive year, ISU President Steven Leath told the Board of Regents during its monthly meeting in Ames. Leath also announced that of the total enrollment tally, a record 20,260 are Iowa students – a number that will matter under new funding metrics the Board of Regents plans to begin using in the 2016 budget year.

The board will tie 60 percent of state dollars for the three public universities to in-state enrollment, prompting University of Iowa officials earlier this year to announce its own plans to grow total enrollment and in-state enrollment numbers.

UI President Sally Mason on Wednesday also announced her university's total fall enrollment reached 31,387 – up from 31,065 last fall. That total does not set a record, but it includes the university's largest and most diverse first-year undergraduate class of 4,666 students, up from 4,460 last year, according to Mason. The previous record for first-year undergraduates was set in 2011 with 4,565 students.

'This is a good start,” Mason said. 'But it also is just a start. My intention is to grow the university, and we are working hard to make sure that happens. But we still have plenty that we can and will be doing.”

Mason said she is in the process of hiring a new chief admissions officer, and the campus now is in a position to grow after it was 'severely constrained” for years following the 2008 flood. It has a new residence hall set to open next fall on the west side of campus, and officials have started movement on a second new residence hall on the east side of campus.

Three-year degrees

While recovering from the flood, Mason told the Board of Regents on Wednesday that her university focused on ensuring student success and making sure they finished in a timely fashion. She said UI's four-year graduation rate is on the rise – it reached 51.1 percent for undergraduate students who enrolled in 2009, representing the highest rate in recent history.

'We are now graduating students almost as quickly as we are bringing them in,” Mason said.

But, she said, the university can go further.

'I have challenged our provost to go even further, and that is exactly where we are headed,” Mason said.

During the regents meeting, Mason for the first time announced a new three-year bachelor's degree option to help 'ambitious, talented students complete their studies earlier, save money, and get a head start on their careers.”

As proposed, three-year degrees would require the same number of credits as four-year options, but they would offer options for fulfilling those requirements faster – in part – through summer class offerings.

Participating students, according to university officials, would save students money on tuition, housing, and other expenses.

'I believe this is an innovative way to help some of our students earn their degrees faster, while maintaining academic rigor, so they can graduate sooner and begin a productive and enriching working life,” Mason said.

She said the goal is to roll out the three-year degree option before the end of this academic year. Her announcement comes on the heels of one by Gov. Terry Branstad on Tuesday proposing fixed-price degrees at the public universities.

Branstad on Tuesday challenged the Board of Regents to offer $10,000 bachelors degrees on popular majors at the three public universities and to cut by half or more the cost of tuition in at least half of a university's major course offerings.

Board President Bruce Rastetter on Wednesday said in response to that challenge that he and his colleagues 'welcome” proposals that increase accessibility and reduce the cost of receiving an education.

UNI enrollment

Although the University of Northern Iowa did not set any enrollment records this fall, its 11,928 total student count is up more than 4 percent from last year and represents the second straight increase.

UNI also saw a 4.4 percent increase in new students direct from high school, a 20.2 percent increase in new minority students; and a 22.3 percent increase in new international students.