Iowa Regents scale back funding request after lawmakers’ rejection

IOWA CITY — Receiving no increase in general education funding from the Iowa Legislature in its last session, the state Board of Regents has more than halved its ask for the upcoming term from a $32 million to a $14.8 million increase.

In its new funding request for the 2025 budget year, which starts July 1, the board is seeking $4.5 million appropriation bumps for both the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, along with a $5.8 million funding increase for the University of Northern Iowa, according to documents made public Tuesday.

If granted that full ask, the regents’ higher education budget would swell from $491.5 million to $506.3 million — but still below the $547.6 million in general operating funds the state appropriated the three public universities over 20 years ago in fiscal 2001.

Should lawmakers grant the board’s new funding requests, its total state appropriations — including select funding increases for special purpose units — would climb $38.3 million from $580.7 million to $619 million. In 2001, the board’s state funding total — excluding the Iowa School for the Deaf and Braille and Sight Saving School, which is no longer under the regents’ watch starting this year — was $668.8 million.

At that time — more than two decades ago, when total regent enrollment was slightly higher than this fall’s 69,240 — the universities reported a combined $264.7 million in tuition and fee revenue. For the current budget year, the universities expect to generate $1.2 billion from tuition and fees — exemplifying the flip-flop in sources for funding Iowa’s public universities.

In 2001, 64 percent of regent university general education funding came from appropriations and 31 percent came from tuition. Today, 64 percent of that funding comes from tuition, while under 30 percent comes from the Legislature.

“State funding for regent higher education is a vital resource to attract students by keeping tuition affordable and allows the regent universities to offer an extensive array of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in support of Iowa workforce needs,” according to this week’s regent funding request for 2025.

Need for more

Justifying its need for more money, the board noted "inflation accelerated beginning in early 2021, and it continues to impact the costs of university goods and services.”

“Additional funding of $4.5 million is requested for (the UI) and for ISU to help with increased inflationary costs for information technology hardware and software, utilities, fuel, collectively bargained wages and personnel costs.”

Explaining its higher request for UNI, the board highlighted that campus’ desire to keep tuition rates flat — with no increase — for fiscal 2025.

“UNI focuses on providing access to a transformative educational experience to a predominantly low- to moderate-income student profile, as nearly 30 percent of UNI undergraduates receive the federal Pell Grant,” according to board documents. “UNI’s efforts to help students plan for an affordable education is a key component to remaining accessible; the state’s investment is critical to keeping a four-year degree accessible for Iowans.”

Spelling out its UI- and ISU-specific requests, the board highlighted five efforts the increased funding will support:

“Residents from all 50 states, several U.S. territories, and 135 countries from around the world come to Iowa and enroll in Iowa’s regent universities,” the board reported in making its case for state support. “Many of these students will become residents of Iowa because of their experiences at Iowa’s regent universities.”

Last year’s decision

Although the Legislature last year didn’t grant the board any of the $32 million increase in general education appropriations it sought, the state did appropriate an additional $7.1 million for specific programs.

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

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