State university leaders discuss budgets, tuition increases

The regents requested a state funding increase of $14.8 million this year, but the Iowa Legislature approved only a $12.3 million increase. The Board of Regents raised tuition at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University by 3%. Tuition at the University of Northern Iowa increased by 2%.

University of Northern Iowa

University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook said the new nursing program is one area where they are trying to help the state.

“The nursing program officially launches this fall. We have 30 students admitted to that program. The first cohort — the initial cohort of nursing students,” Nook said. “And in the spring, we will admit another 48 students into a cohort.”

He said UNI has other areas where they are focusing on filling the need for workers in the state.

“We’ll also be making investments in the material science engineering and material science engineering technology programs. Both of these are essential for Iowa’s manufacturing workforce needs,” Nook said.

UNI has a general operating budget of around $174 million, which is a 4% increase from the previous year.

Iowa State University

Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen talked about the $2.8 million in additional funding the school received to develop a future-ready workforce.

“It’s allowed us to invest in 26 faculty and staff who are supporting six initiatives to grow high-demand STEM programs that meet the state’s workforce needs and produce innovative solutions for business and industry,” Wintersteen said.

She highlighted one area where they will prepare students to use new technology.

“New faculty in computer science are equipping students to leverage the benefits of AI in areas such as automated driving systems, robotics, cybersecurity, data visualization and machine learning,” Wintersteen said.

ISU’s general fund budget increased 2.5% from the previous fiscal year to nearly $726 million.

University of Iowa

University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson talked about the school’s efforts to be efficient.

“We spend $0.11 of every dollar on administration and $0.89 of every dollar on instruction,” Wilson said. “And just to give you a sense of what that looks like among our Big Ten peers, that’s $0.08 lower than the Big Ten average on administrative spending.”

Wilson said that allows the university to put more into educating students. She also talked about the retention rate for new students.

“We started the strategic plan at 88% in FY 2020. And when the plan started, we were inching our way up, and we’re now at 89.3%. Our five-year goal was 90%, and I suspect we’re going to get there before the five years. And so, we’re challenging each other to think about what our new metric should be,” Wilson said.

The University of Iowa’s general operating budget also increased by 2.5% to nearly $823 million.