Don’t micromanage UI med school

It’s ironic state lawmakers are determined to use more and more state power to micromanage our public universities as the schools receive less and less of their funding from the state.

State appropriations make up 29% of university budgets, with 65% coming from tuition payments. In 1981, state funding made up 77% of funding, while tuition accounted for 21%. The trend continues, with no sign of reversal.

The latest legislative edict is one that could affect the University’s Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry. A bill, House File 516, would mandate that 80% of students accepted to the UI College of Dentistry and the College of Medicine’s doctor of medicine program must be Iowa residents or enrolled in an Iowa college or university before applying.

We see this as a bill attempting to solve a problem that doesn’t exist. In 2023-2024, according to reporting by The Gazette’s Vanessa Miller, 70% of medical students and dentistry students are Iowa residents.

We clearly understand the desire to build a health care workforce in Iowa, given the shortage of health care providers. Lawmakers backing the bill, primarily Republicans with some Democrats, believe there’s a better chance Iowans educated in Iowa will remain in Iowa to build their medical careers.

But retention rates are low, with 81% of Iowa natives who graduated from the med school between 2020 and 2024 accepted residencies in other states. Just 44% of UIHC residents stayed in Iowa after training.

We’re skeptical such a mandate will greatly improve those numbers.

And the mandate would mean the loss of funding. The loss of out-of-state tuition payments. Non-residents pay $54,000 yearly, farm more than $38,000 for instate students. Non-resident dentistry students pay $84,000 compared to $59,000 instate.

Accounting for expected tuition increases, cutting the number of non-resident students would reduce tuition payments by more than $5 million in the first four years.

“We need to be able to attract and retain the top talent in Iowa,” said Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City. “I don't think anybody in this chamber who is an Iowa fan, an Iowa State fan or a UNI fan would vote to limit their ability to recruit outside talent.”

Zabner is right. Republicans who have ordered an end to considering race or other factors in recruitment apparently don’t feel the same about requiring geography as a factor. If Republicans truly want a “merit” based university system, it would make more sense for them to want the best medical students, regardless of where they live.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com