This Week at the Statehouse – Week 7
UNI presented our budget request for the modernization of the Industrial Technology Center (ITC) to the Transportation, Infrastructure & Capitals budget subcommittee this week. Mike Zwanziger, Assistant Vice President & Director of Facilities Management, provided a powerpoint that showed previous UNI buildings they supported with state infrastructure dollars (Bartlett Hall and Schindler Education Center) and what their $39.7 million investment into the ITC would do. In total, 45% of UNI’s general education fund buildings were constructed between 1965 and 1980 and only 40% of those buildings have been renovated to date. Renovation focus reduces our deferred maintenance and improves building efficiencies. As a comparison, the remodeled Schindler Education Center saves the university over $244,000 per year in realized energy savings. Funding the ITC would also eliminate $12 million of deferred maintenance.
President Mark Nook was also on a legislative panel this week. The House Appropriations Committee had higher education experts provide information regarding Future Trends in Higher Education Enrollment. Other panelists were Mark Wiederspan, Executive Director of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission, Central College President Mark Putnam and Northeast Iowa Community College president Dr. Wee. Mr. Wiederspan noted that for Iowa, total college enrollment will go up around 7% until 2024 and then go back down around 7%. They used actual K-12 enrollment so better data shows a 7% decline and not as much as previously reported of a 12-20% decline. President Nook talked about there being already 15,000 unfilled jobs available in Iowa. Seeing a decline in our college enrollments is a bigger issue for our workforce and our economy than it is for our higher education institutions. Our higher education institutions are going to be part of the solution because we’re going to work very hard to get more and more of those students into higher education and ready for those jobs.
Week 7 was also consumed by floor debate in both the Senate and House. Here are a few bills that had action this week:
HF 2359 makes the Praxis Core entrance exam into teacher preparation programs voluntary instead of mandatory. Passed House; in Senate Education Committee
SF 2284 is the Board of Regents regulatory relief bill that strikes/repeals outdated Code sections and provides additional provisions to strengthen the universities economic development efforts. Passed Senate; in House Education Committee
SF 2310 repeals the Iowa learning online initiative in the Department Education and authorizes the AEAs to offer, in partnership with school districts, an online learning program to deliver distance education to Iowa’s secondary students. Passed Senate; in House Education Committee
SF 2329 includes occupational therapists as health care providers for treating concussions at high school sport contests. Passed Senate; in House Education Committee
SF 2356 requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules on an advanced dyslexia specialist endorsement for teachers, in consultation with the Iowa Reading Research Center and the Board of Educational Examiners. Establishes the Iowa Dyslexia board, which will include a member from higher education. Passed Senate; in House Education Committee
SF 2360 addresses violent student behavior in the K-12 classroom. Passed Senate; in House Appropriations Committee
If you have any questions, please email me at mary.braun@uni.edu.