Apr 09, 2021

This Week at the Statehouse – Week 13

The House and Senate have started the budget process this week. Here are the budget bills the Board of Regents is tracking and where they stand, as of today. These are NOT final numbers.

The House will start:

The Senate will start:

  • Economic Development –  SF 595
  • Health & Human Services – not introduced yet
  • Standing Appropriations – not introduced yet

In the House education budget bill, there is no additional money provided in FY 22 than FY 21 for the three Regent universities, which includes the FY 21 cuts. There is also language in the bill that freezes tuition and mandatory fees for all three Regent universities for FY 22 at FY 21 levels. UNI’s line items are funded at:

  • $98,296,620 base operations funding
  • $6,354,848 for Governor's STEM Advisory Committee
  • $172,768 for the recycling and reuse center
  • $123,523 for real estate education

The Board of Regents statement on the tuition freeze language:

There has been national debate and proposals about freezing tuition for college students. We all have the same goal of keeping college affordable and accessible for students. However, the economics of a college education is not a one size fits all approach. The Board of Regents has studied tuition and developed a five year tuition plan that has successfully managed tuition increases. During the pandemic the Board froze tuition to ease the burden on those attending Iowa’s public universities. Understanding what resources are needed - including setting tuition and decisions on when to make adjustments to maintain the quality of Iowa's public universities - is one of the Board's most important functions. The responsibility of setting tuition rests with the Board and should continue as such to avoid politicizing Iowa's tuition rates.

Iowans have worked for generations to build up our universities into what they are today – major economic engines that educate students from across the state; produce world class research and contribute immeasurably to the quality of life we all enjoy.  

As this legislative session enters its final phase, we look forward to working with all legislators and the Governor to provide our universities the resources necessary to ensure our universities are even stronger for the next generation.

In the Senate economic development budget bill, UNI was funded at status quo level, including the FY 21 cut to the additive manufacturing center. UNI’s line items are funded as follows:

  • $3,000,000 for Regents Innovation Fund ($900,000 to UNI)
  • $1,066,419 for UNI Business and Community Services (BCS)
  • $394,321 for additive manufacturing center

There are no changes to the previously enacted infrastructure funding for UNI’s Industrial Technology Center renovation in the House infrastructure budget bill: $13M in FY 22, $18M in FY 23, and $8.5M in FY 24.

If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.