The board that oversees the three state universities is proposing a new approach to the budget.
The Board of Regents in a news release says it will propose a two-year budget and tuition model when it discusses its request for state money at the board’s meeting next week in Iowa City.
The plan calls for a 2 percent increase in state support to Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa for each of the next two fiscal years. It will also asks for an additional $2.5 million for UNI in the first year. The new model also proposes a 2 percent increase in tuition in each year.
A statement from Regent’s president Bruce Rastetter was included in the announcement of the plan: “We want to provide as much predictability as possible to our students and their families,” Rastetter’s statement said. “By going to this new model, students and parents will know tuition rates well in advance, and the state will know our thinking on funding for two years. The universities themselves also will be able to plan across multiple years. We want to be thoughtful as we look at a long-term strategy for providing the resources necessary to our universities.”
A statement from Board of Regents President Pro Tem Katie Mulholland says the budget is part of the Board’s new strategic plan adopted in July. “This is a first step in fulfilling our strategies of predictability and long-term planning,” Mullholland’s statement said . “This new approach is the next iteration of the Board’s successes over the past five years.”
The Regents will vote on the 2018 fiscal year appropriation request at the meeting. It calls for $12.7 million for the three universities; $4.6 million for the University of Iowa, $3.7 million for Iowa State University, and $4.4 million for the University of Northern Iowa. The first reading of tuition rates for the 2017-18 academic year is scheduled to take place at the October board meeting
The Board of Regents approved a $250 increase in tuition for the fall semester in July after they requested 20 million more dollars from the state and were only given about six million. The increase was $50 less than what was proposed. Governor Terry Branstad had said the increase should be $200 to better allow students to deal with the increase.