4.1 Mission and Scope

Universities
1. Universities under the control of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, shall offer diversified and high quality programs of undergraduate, graduate, professional and post-graduate study at reasonable cost to those seeking post-secondary education in this state. Educational programs shall be designed to allow the student a wide range of subject selection and the greatest latitude in pursuit of knowledge and in preparation for a role in society.
2. The Regent universities are the primary Iowa training grounds for the professions, including medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, accountants, lawyers, veterinarians, educators, architects, agriculturalists, engineers, and others who will achieve advanced degrees in various fields of the arts and sciences. The State University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa are committed to research and education that expand knowledge and benefit society. They shall make educational programs and the results of research available through outreach and extension services and shall offer services to the public appropriate to the mission of each University.
3. Within this framework and the availability of funds, the State University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa shall seek different areas of specialty and emphasis compatible with their distinct missions in the state system of higher education.
4. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, shall approve the missions of the universities under its control in the framework of higher education in Iowa, which includes private colleges and universities, along with community colleges. Continuing efforts are made to cooperate with these other sectors of higher education to effect useful coordination, to avoid needless duplication, and to foster good will. This effort is illustrated by the list of questions to which the Board requires satisfactory answers before proposed new or expanded programs are adopted. (See Section 3.5)
5. Decisions concerning future academic programs shall be based on the continuing assessment of existing programs and developing needs. Programs shall be curtailed, suspended, or eliminated when the assessment of need and resources indicates that resources should be devoted to other programs. The universities shall continue to approach the addition of new programs with caution. Generally, new programs shall be fashioned out of existing programs in response to developing needs. If the University is to remain vital, it is necessary that it consider at appropriate times the development of new programs that fall within its general mission and that meet the needs of students and society.
6. The universities shall maintain diverse and multicultural campuses to educate students and scholars to participate in the broader world and to strengthen the State of Iowa’s connections with other states and countries.
7. The State University of Iowa Mission
  1. The University is a comprehensive AAU research university with particular distinction in the arts, humanities, and sciences, and a wide array of exceptional professional programs. In carrying out its threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service, the University seeks to advance scholarly and creative endeavor through leading-edge research and artistic production; to use this research and creativity to enhance undergraduate, graduate, and professional education, health care, and other services provided to the people of Iowa, the nation, and the world; and to educate students for success and personal fulfillment in an increasingly diverse and global environment.
  2. The State University of Iowa is a comprehensive public university with the mission to provide the highest quality undergraduate, professional, graduate, and continuing education and patient care. To fulfill this mission, the university engages in teaching; research; professional, public, and clinical services; and appropriate extension.
  3. Scope
    1. As an AAU institution, the State University of Iowa is recognized as having a broad scope of programs, including graduate and professional colleges. As essential components of a distinguished state university, such programs shall include the full complement of undergraduate liberal arts and sciences courses, graduate and professional programs in law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, public health, engineering, and allied fields related to those professional disciplines, as well as social work, business administration, journalism, education, library science, and urban and regional planning. However, the State University of Iowa shall offer no major programs in agriculture, architecture, forestry, industrial arts, veterinary medicine, agricultural, aeronautical or ceramic engineering.
    2. Graduate programs shall be made available in areas for which there is sufficient demand and resources and shall build on the University’s strengths in the arts and humanities, life sciences, law, medicine, and international programs.
8. Iowa State University Mission
  1. The mission of Iowa State University is defined by the institution's status as the State of Iowa's land-grant University and by its relationship to other institutions of higher education within Iowa. Iowa State University is a leading higher education institution with institutional emphasis on programs in science and technology.
    1. Iowa State University shall provide a full range of high quality educational opportunities and shall have a statewide system for extension education and information dissemination.
    2. Consistent with its historic mission, Iowa State University shall contribute to the economic development of the State of Iowa by attracting public and private organizations seeking proximity to leading authorities in particular fields, by participating in technology transfer, and by assisting efforts to strengthen and diversify the economic base of Iowa.
    3. Iowa State University shall assume responsibility for helping to protect, maintain and improve Iowa's natural resources through the discovery and diffusion of knowledge and technology.
  2. Scope
    1. Iowa State University of Science and Technology shall have sufficient scope and depth in its instruction, research, and extension and professional service functions to enable it to be a distinguished land-grant research University. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate work in engineering, agriculture, and the physical, biological, mathematical and social sciences, it shall maintain and develop strong undergraduate programs in the arts and humanities, and offer such master's and doctoral programs in this area as are justified to meet the needs of the State of Iowa and to maintain the overall strength and desirable balance of the university as a whole.
    2. At Iowa State University, principal emphasis shall be given to the development and maintenance of strong programs in the sciences, agriculture, engineering, veterinary medicine, design, education, business, and human sciences. Interdisciplinary programs shall seek to combine the perspectives and methods of more than one discipline to address the questions and problems confronting Iowa, the nation and the world more effectively.
    3. Iowa State University shall offer no major undergraduate or graduate programs in law, library science, human medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, hospital administration, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech pathology.
9. University of Northern Iowa Mission
  1. The University of Northern Iowa is a comprehensive university whose mission is to provide high-quality undergraduate programs founded on a strong liberal arts curriculum and selected graduate programs that meet the educational career needs of the students it serves. In fulfilling its tripartite mission of teaching, research/creative activity, and service, the university provides an educational environment with personalized learning experiences for students and a broad range of services designed to enhance the lives and livelihoods of Iowans.
    1. Consistent with its historic purpose, the University of Northern Iowa shall provide early childhood, elementary and secondary teacher preparation and educational leadership programs that prepare pre-K-12 teachers and educational leaders for service throughout Iowa and around the world.
    2. The university shall provide a broad range of undergraduate programs and selected graduate programs consistent with its missions as a comprehensive university.
    3. The university shall serve the ongoing needs of communities throughout Iowa by contributing to the provision of an educated citizenry and by providing opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to provide services to Iowa communities as part of their academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.
  2. Scope
    1. Undergraduate degree offerings shall reflect the university's purpose as a distinguished arts and sciences university with outstanding professional programs in education, business, social work, and speech pathology, and athletic/physical training. University offerings shall extend to baccalaureate education in the applied sciences, except in specific technical fields traditionally associated with other Regent universities.
    2. The institution shall offer master's degrees in areas in which undergraduate instruction is offered, where there is sufficient demand and institutional resources. The university may offer a select number of practitioner-oriented doctoral programs in areas of strength where there is demonstrated need. Given its historical role in and commitment to educator preparation, the University shall have a comprehensive graduate program in advanced educator preparation.