Articles Tagged: University of Northern Iowa

Taking a cue from last year’s Legislature, Iowa’s public universities for the upcoming session have made significant “special purpose” funding requests that would focus on rural health care, rural development and teacher recruitment.

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

On U.S. News & World Report’s list of “2024 Best Colleges” – which involved “the most significant methodological change in the rankings’ history” following widespread criticism of its wealth- and prestige-favoring metrics – Iowa’s public universities experienced meaningful movement, both up and down the charts.

All three of Iowa’s public universities have larger student bodies this fall than last -- as of their official 10th-day census -- including the University of Northern Iowa, which has been watching its enrollment trend down for more than a decade.

Mirroring the energy-drink tide swelling across the country of late, a University of Iowa health assessment this year indicated undergraduate and graduate consumption of the caffeine-boosted beverages is surging — even past national averages, which also are on the rise.

Iowa’s public universities are back in session, with students kicking off the fall semester this week under sweltering heat — making the start especially uncomfortable for some of the tens of thousands who moved into residence hall rooms without air conditioning.

This year, UNI students and supporters across the Cedar Valley and state will be sporting the first “TC’s Tee,” a new annual T-shirt tradition the campus hopes will raise camaraderie, Panther pride, and money for UNI’s general scholarship fund, housed within the UNI Foundation.

Bugeja’s concern about false information is one of many AI-related worries facing instructors and professors as students return to campus this fall. Others include plagiarism, misrepresentation, and various forms of cheating and technology-aided shortcuts students might employ, depriving themselves of material learning and tricking instructors into thinking they produced or wrote content they didn’t.

Five years after buying its community’s 80-year-old student bookstore for $2.4 million, the University of Northern Iowa wants to partner with a private chain to operate it – following in the footsteps of the University of Iowa.

State relations remain a preeminent concern for Iowa’s public university system, compelling the regents to try something new. With the recent retirement of UNI’s state relations officer Mary Braun, the board is looking to hire a firm – instead of just one person – to replace her.

Under two years from the 2025 deadline Iowa set for itself seven years ago to get at least 70 percent of its workforce some form of education or training after high school, a new Gallup poll out Tuesday reveals confidence in higher education has plummeted — especially among Republicans.

Four weeks into summer school across Iowa’s public universities, enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels — although campus leaders are “encouraged” by signs student counts are normalizing.

Students who are older, already in the workforce, raising families or from families without a history of college or the resources to finance it are becoming increasingly important across higher education.

After hearing from student representatives worried about the rising cost of higher education but aware of eroding state support, Iowa’s Board of Regents without discussion Wednesday approved across-the-system tuition and fee increases – including a 3.5-percent hike for all in-state undergraduates.

The Board of Regents today is evaluating the performance of its three university presidents and executive director over the last year — a process that on many occasions historically has resulted in pay raises and increased deferred compensation.