The Iowa Board of Regents will only request increased general university appropriations for the University of Northern Iowa in fiscal year 2026. (Logo via Iowa Board of Regents)
Two of Iowa’s state universities will not request any additional general education dollars for the next fiscal year, according to Iowa Board of Regents documentation.
The University of Northern Iowa will request incremental general university funding of $2.5 million for fiscal year 2026, according to the state appropriations request the board of regents is set to discuss next week. The University of Iowa and Iowa State University will keep their general appropriations requests flat compared to their appropriation in fiscal year 2025.
If approved by the regents, the UI will request about $223.5 million, ISU will request nearly $178.5 million and UNI will request about $104.4 million in general university appropriations, bringing the total to $506.3 million.
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General education appropriations increased by 2.5% at each university for fiscal year 2025, coming out to $12.3 million compared to the $14.8 million requested.
UNI would use these additional dollars to “support efforts to differentiate UNI tuition from that of research intensive universities,” the document stated.
“State’s investment is critical to keeping a four-year degree within reach for Iowans,” the document stated.
Tying their requests together under the motto of “service to Iowans,” each of the universities are also seeking state appropriations to launch or expand special programs, from rural health care and economics initiatives to partnerships with community colleges.
University of Iowa
The UI is requesting $10 million in fiscal year 2026, with more funding requests planned in future years for a total of $50 million, for its rural health care initiative. Iowa’s Rural Health Care Partnership would focus on strengthening the state’s health care workforce and expanding access to education and training across Iowa in collaboration with the state. The program will also seek to improve health outcomes for rural Iowans, specifically in primary care, maternal and mental health, according to the document.
The university is also seeking economic development appropriations from the state for its John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center and nurse innovator program.
The John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center would use $200,000 of its request to go directly to entrepreneurs, the document stated, providing funding to early-stage, Iowa-based startups, supporting student internships at startups and businesses and expanding resources for rural communities.
With the remaining $50,000 split between the center’s venture school training program and Hawkeye Ventures Fund, $25,000 will go to expanding the school to two new locations and the rest will be put toward supporting a financial analyst, student interns and marketing efforts for the ventures fund.
Iowa State University
ISU is seeking increased funding for its agricultural experiment station and its extension and outreach service with the goal of strengthening Iowa’s rural economy, according to the board of regents document.
If approved, the university will request $3.75 million in incremental funding for the experiment station and an additional $1 million for the outreach service. The funds would support technological advances, workforce and entrepreneurship and economics and policy in the agriculture sector, according to the document.
“While the demand for science and technology in service to Iowa agriculture continues to rise, the capacity of Iowa State to keep pace has diminished,” the document stated. “At risk is the university’s ability to continue to adequately address perennial and emerging concerns for farmers and agribusinesses, and to innovate to ensure resilient, thriving rural communities.”
The university is also requesting $1 million in funding to create scholarships for its veterinary early acceptance program and $4 million to establish a manufacturing pipeline. The scholarships would provide in-state tuition for students entering the College of Veterinary Medicine through the ISU Production Animal – Veterinary Early Acceptance Program with the requirement of them working in rural Iowa after graduation for at least five years.
MakeIowa, the manufacturing program, will launch four hubs across Iowa in partnership with regional education institutions, upgrading manufacturing training centers for advanced technologies trainings and co-developing curriculum for new pathways to degrees. The document stated that the university will also find ways for students to use these hubs for local internships.
ISU is also asking for a $36,005 increase in economic development funding for its Biobased Products, Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, and Digital and Precision Agriculture bioscience platforms in order to have them funded at $3 million annually, a goal set in 2017. The university is also requesting economic development state appropriations of $250,000 to support staff and operations focused on entrepreneurship, according to the document.
The only university to request increases in agricultural and natural resources appropriations, ISU is asking for an additional $1.5 million for its veterinary diagnostics lab and $250,000 more for livestock disease research.
University of Northern Iowa
With federal funding predicted to run out by the end of 2025 due to growth and need, UNI is seeking $1.63 million in state appropriations for its UNI@IACC program, which opens students who have received an associate’s degree from a partner community college to earn their bachelor’s degree from UNI remotely.
Since its start in 2022, the document stated UNI@IACC has “nearly doubled in size.” Federal funds provided at its inception created Future Ready Iowa scholarships in order to bridge the gap between the costs of tuition at a student’s community college and UNI. Around half of students in the program are eligible for these scholarships, and more funds are needed to keep them available.
UNI is also looking to establish a center for civic education, and is requesting $1 million for its launch. Developed in response to directives from the board of regents, the document stated the center would offer educational materials on civic knowledge and free speech, develop civic learning strategies and encourage “respectful dialogue across differences.” The center would strengthen civic education for both K-12 and college students, as well as teachers and the public.
“It will serve the state of Iowa by centering civic education and free speech in its activities, and will promote the values of free speech, civic leadership, public service and citizenship,” the document stated.
The university is also requesting $3 million in economic development dollars to offer students from states that share a border with Iowa the same tuition and fees as in-state students, as, according to the document, 40% of UNI graduates from border states stay in Iowa.
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