Board of Regents to Discuss FY18 Appropriations Request at September Meeting

August 30, 2016

At its September meeting, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa will discuss its FY 2018 appropriations request. In a new approach, the Board is proposing a two-year budget and tuition model to show the needs of Iowa’s public universities.

For the last five years, the Board has been very clear in its appropriation requests and in what it has intended to do regarding tuition.  By working with the Governor and the legislature, the Board was able to freeze tuition for multiple years, lower student debt and provide the necessary resources to keep Iowa's public universities accessible and affordable.

The budget plan that the Board will discuss in September is a dynamic, multi-year plan. It calls for a two percent increase in state support to the public universities for both FY 2018 and FY 2019, and an additional $2.5 million for UNI in the first year. Specifically, the Board will consider FY 2018 appropriations requests totaling $12.7 million for the general 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.

“We want to provide as much predictability as possible to our students and their families,” said Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter.  “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.”

In order to be successful, the state and the Board of Regents must play equally important roles. The state determines appropriations, and the Board of Regents reviews the needs of Iowa’s public universities and works with the institutions to determine how best to achieve the resources needed, through a combination of appropriations, tuition, and efficiencies or reallocations.

“As 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,” said Board of Regents President Pro Tem Katie Mulholland.  “This new approach is the next iteration of the Board’s successes over the past five years."

The only vote that the Board will take in September is on the FY 2018 appropriation request. The first reading of tuition rates for the 2017-18 academic year is scheduled to take place at the October meeting. Each year of the two-year budget plan has resident undergraduate tuition rates increasing by two percent. As the plan is dynamic, first-year outcomes may impact the second year of the plan.

For More Information:

Josh Lehman

515-242-5095

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