Warning Iowa is suffering from a “crisis in civics literacy,” a representative from the National Association of Scholars on Wednesday urged lawmakers to reform public university general education requirements, establish autonomous civics schools on its university campuses, and ensure education accrediting bodies can’t block Iowa’s reform laws.
In hopes of boosting enrollment and addressing Iowa’s workforce needs, the University of Northern Iowa is proposing slashing tuition rates by more than half for non-resident students from bordering states to match instate rates paid by Iowa residents.
A year after lawmakers passed sweeping legislation banning diversity, equity, and inclusion spending across Iowa’s public universities, legislators are taking aim at DEI-related curricular requirements — and the Board of Regents is in support.
Hoping to shield Iowa’s public universities from potential backlash to policy changes enacted by lawmakers, Republicans pushed forward a bill that would allow them to sue private entities that review the quality of colleges.
The proposed bill would ban Iowa’s regents institutions from having general education curriculum that teaches “identity politics” or claims systemic racism, sexism, oppression or privilege are inherent in U.S. and Iowa institutions.
Iowa’s new House Higher Education Committee has introduced a spate of study bills directed at Iowa’s public, private and community colleges and universities -- including several going further to limit diversity, equity and inclusion on the campuses and others imposing new mandates around what can and should be taught.
Also, the Iowa Senate is advancing new legislation that would require the teaching of fetal development in health and human growth classes
A representative from the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research urged Iowa lawmakers Wednesday to get more involved in higher education -- including by changing Iowa Code to give the Legislature power to eliminate or add departments on its public university campuses.
All three of Iowa’s public universities “have ceased participating” in a nationwide initiative to diversify corporate America by increasing the diversity of business school faculty after a Republican lawmaker and head of the House higher education committee brought the issue to the Board of Regents.
Adding to its more than 50 civil rights complaints in recent years accusing colleges, universities, and other academic institutions of race- and sex-based discrimination, the anti-affirmative action Equal Protection Project on Monday filed a federal complaint against the University of Northern Iowa.
The University of Northern Iowa has signed settlement agreements with five assistant professors promising them tenure and back pay after they filed grievances based on the institution’s initial denial of their promotion applications.
Ahead of its public universities’ charge to draft strategic plan updates by February, Iowa’s Board of Regents next week will consider an update to its own five-year plan that eliminates references to diversity and inclusion.
In 2020, the University of Northern Iowa suspended its professional development assignments application process for the 2022 budget year — given requests are approved two years in advance — dropping the three public campuses’ total from 134 in 2021 to 72 in 2022.
Iowa’s Board of Regents, governing the state’s three public universities, has been understaffed for seven months spanning five meetings – with its student-regent seat sitting unfilled for the longest stretch since the Legislature in 1988 passed a law requiring a student fill one of the nine spots.
UNI will welcome its 150th class next fall, leading the way to commemorating the school’s opening on Sept. 6, 1876.
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