REAPS Update
The REAPS initiative, created in December 2025, is a comprehensive review of revenue streams and cost efficiencies across the Regents Enterprise. Though Iowa’s public universities have ongoing revenue enhancement and cost-saving measures in place, REAPS was commissioned to enhance those efforts and work toward even greater efficiency gains.
Iowa’s public universities already operate with efficiency, ranking among the most cost effective four year public institutions in the nation. According to recent data, Iowa’s public universities maintain the fourth lowest administrative expenses relative to instructional costs nationwide.
In August, Huron Consulting Services was selected to partner with the Board on REAPS. Huron has a wealth of experience, with more than 100 similar engagements in the higher education space in the past five years.
At the September Board of Regents meeting, Board Chief Efficiency Officer Jacob Nicholson informed the Board that REAPS was entering the next phase of the study, which includes generating and refining cost savings, efficiency, and revenue generating opportunities in nine key focus areas. Those focus areas are:
- Alternative Revenue
- Research, Innovation, & Commercialization
- Institutional Capabilities as a Service
- Workforce, Professional, & Lifelong Learning
- Real Estate Optimization & Development
- Service Enhancement
- Facilities and Space Management
- Cost Rationalization
- Procurement Spend and Efficiency
Over the coming months, Huron will dive deeper into each of these areas to quantify potential benefits, validate findings with institutional leaders, and refine recommendations for consideration by the Board.
This phase will be the most time-intensive phase of REAPS. It will include numerous meetings with key stakeholders to develop actionable recommendations. Those recommendations are expected to be delivered to the Board at its February 2027 meeting.
A list of frequently asked questions about REAPS can be found here, and anyone wishing to ask a question about REAPS may do so by filling out this form. A full link to Nicholson’s presentation to the Board can be found here.
