Articles Tagged: Iowa Board of Regents

Democrats’ proposal would freeze tuition, while Republicans would cap tuition increases for undergrads

Lawmakers have proposed a bill that would expand the nine-member Board of Regents to include two “non-voting” members of the Legislature. It also would cap tuition rates across the public universities at 3 percent for undergraduate students.

Responding to 10 diversity, equity, and inclusion-related recommendations Iowa’s Board of Regents issued in November, Iowa State University has disseminated a directive barring anyone on campus from making students, employees, applicants, or visitors “disclose their pronouns.”

Although long-serving Iowa State University Provost Jonathan Wickert just last week announced plans to relinquish his appointment later this summer, he actually submitted his resignation letter more than two months ago on Nov. 10.

After eight years on the Board of Regents and nearly seven as its president, Michael Richards on Tuesday announced he’s stepping down from his presidential post and will leave the board at the end of April — three years before his term expires.

Instead of the nearly $40 million Legislative appropriations increase Iowa’s Board of Regents wanted in the next budget year, Gov. Kim Reynolds has recommended a $12.3 million bump — amounting to a 2.5 percent increase for each of Iowa’s public universities.

Speaker of the Iowa House Pat Grassley has served in the Legislature nearly 18 years and has never — over that span — seen it undertake a broad review of “how we deliver higher education.”

The University of Iowa shift in leadership and decision-making power has meant “significant” challenges for the $525.6 million hospital campus it’s building in North Liberty, according to an Oct. 18 audit by Baker Tilly, provided to The Gazette through an open records request.

Universities nationwide, including those across Iowa, are prioritizing access and affordability to higher education among their recruiting strategies – even as tuition rises – and many hope a first update to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in many decades will help.

Although only a fraction of the students who graduate in more traditional spring ceremonies do so in December, Iowa’s public universities this weekend will celebrate thousands participating in fall commencements across their respective campuses.

A month after Iowa’s Board of Regents approved a list of diversity, equity and inclusion recommendations, like restructuring DEI offices and cutting unnecessary positions, its public universities have started to “review and reimagine” their campus DEI efforts.

With University of Northern Iowa strapped for cash and its tuition revenue sliding, unionized faculty members are criticizing the administration for giving nearly $4.3 million of the campus’ general university funds to athletics in the 2023 budget year – which was almost $1 million more than planned.

With a rise in pet ownership has come a spike in pet health care, along with growth across the pet insurance industry, all driving a bump in demand for more advanced pet medicine — including cancer care, like the novel and expanding veterinary oncology services offered at Iowa State University.

“The students that issued the statement have every right to their opinion,” Board of Regents President Michael Richards said. “I continue to strongly disagree with what they said and stand by that. However, I should not have used insulting language towards the students.”

Despite warnings of a looming enrollment cliff threatening to decimate crops of high school graduates feeding thousands of colleges nationally, Iowa’s high school graduate numbers aren’t expected to dip below 2019 levels any time soon — at least through 2036.