Iowa regents eye proactive policy changes echoing proposed bills — including tuition cap

AMES — The Board of Regents this week is getting ahead of legislation being considered in the Iowa Legislature by making policy changes in advance of the bills’ passage — including limiting annual tuition increases for instate students.

Under the new policy — approved by a regent committee Wednesday, sending it to the full board Thursday — the rate for those resident students going forward wouldn’t go up by more than the average of the three most-recent annual “Higher Education Price Indexes.” The index — designed for use by higher education institutions — rose 3.4 percent in fiscal 2024, according to the Commonfund Institute.

The board Thursday will hold its first of two considerations on tuition rates for next fall — proposing resident undergraduate increases at 3 percent for both Iowa State University and the University of Iowa and 2.7 percent at the University of Northern Iowa.

The campuses in recent years have proposed rate hikes at 3.5 percent or above — including for the 2022-23 academic year, when resident undergraduate rates went up 4.25 percent across all three campuses.

The board’s new tuition-increase cap policy, if approved by the full board, would replace its previous softer policy language requiring regents to use the index “as a benchmark” in evaluating tuition proposals in consultation with ISU and UNI economists.

The new policy echoes House File 440 proposed earlier this legislative session that would have imposed a range of limitations on tuition — including capping any annual hike for incoming students at 3 percent. The bill also would have frozen tuition for resident undergraduate students at their entering rate for up to four years.

Subsequent amendments stripped that language, instead requiring regents to only study the implications of a tuition freeze on enrollment and revenue. A recent nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency report projected lost revenue from the tuition cap and freeze — once fully implemented in 2030 — could reach $32.8 million annually across the three campuses.

The amended bill, if taken up still this session, also would require the regents to approve tuition rates no later than April 30 for the next academic year. Final action on tuition and fees now typically happens in June.

What’s being taught

The board also this week is considering a “syllabi posting” policy that would give members of the public — not just students enrolled in a course — more information about what is being taught at the public universities.

“All institutions governed by the Iowa Board of Regents will provide public access to undergraduate course syllabus information, thereby promoting transparency and informed decision-making among students and the public,” according to the new policy language, approved in committee Wednesday and heading to the full board Thursday.

The policy aligns with House bill 270 introduced this session directing the public universities to post online a syllabus “for each undergraduate course offered for credit by the institution.”

The syllabus, per the bill, must include the name of the instructor; a description of each major course requirement; and required or recommended reading material. The information must be made available no later than a week after the start of classes; must be accessible without a username or password; must be updated if information changes; and must stay online for at least a year after a course is held.

Although the bill hasn’t yet passed the Legislature, the new regent policy takes much of the actions it would require — even going further.

Per the policy, each university would have to make the following information for every undergraduate course publicly available online:

The syllabus information must be online no later than the start of class, per the policy, which would take effect by the start of the fall 2026 semester.

The policy doesn’t apply to certain undergraduate courses like internships, independent study or research projects, honors thesis or study abroad courses offered by an outside entity.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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