Iowa Board of Regents raises tuition, increases salaries for university leaders
Students attending Iowa’s public universities will see costs increase once again for the next school year after the Iowa Board of Regents set rates Thursday for resident and nonresident, undergraduate and graduate student tuition and fees.
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Despite calls from students in previous meetings to keep tuition flat and help keep higher education , the board approved 3% increases to resident undergraduate tuition at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and a 2.7% increase at the University of Northern Iowa. Tuition and fees for other categories of students will also rise at .
One section taken out of the proposed tuition and fees was UNI’s proposed tuition and fees for nonresident undergraduate students from states bordering Iowa, which would have been equal to what resident undergraduate students pay.
Board of regents Chief Business Officer Brad Berg said during the meeting the board will vote on those rates at a later meeting, as Gov. Kim Reynolds funding for the tuition program before signing education appropriations legislation June 11.
The board voted unanimously to approve all other proposed tuition and fee increases.
Anne Moore, a UI student and graduate research assistant in the university library system, said Wednesday during the board’s public comment period she paid more than $1,000 in mandatory fees in the last academic year — more than a monthly rent payment — even after she received a 58% discount as a union-represented graduate worker.
Fees for UI graduate students will increase by 3% for both resident and nonresident students in the upcoming year, according to the board document, bringing the total cost to $1,829.
International students face even higher fees, Moore said, and those surveyed by the Campaign to Organize Graduate Students, or COGS, have reported increased rates of food insecurity.
“While we struggle to have our basic needs met while pursuing higher education, the regents want to raise tuition and raise our fees even higher,” Moore said. “You are leaving students, workers and families wondering how they’re going to make up the difference.”
Members of the board of regents have a “duty to keep education accessible and affordable for the people of Iowa,” Moore said, and if they want to attract students and keep people in the state, they shouldn’t be “nickel and diming students” while approving multimillion-dollar capital projects and other programs.
“Education is a right, not just for the rich and white,” Moore said. “Keep Iowa education affordable.”
Board approves director, president pay
The board of regents also approved increases to compensation for board Executive Director Mark Braun and university presidents, with new pay for all positions starting July 1.
Regent David Barker said Braun’s base salary will increase to $176,384 and he will receive a new, two-year deferred compensation plan with planned annual payments of $230,000. Board President Sherry Bates will have “the authority to negotiate and finalize a retirement incentive agreement to be effective July 2, 2027,” Bates added.
Braun’s current salary is $154,000, according to .
UI President Barbara Wilson received a $65,000 increase to an $825,000 base salary and ISU President Wendy Wintersteen will see a base salary increase of $25,000 to $735,000 a year.
UNI President Mark Nook received an increase of $12,890, bringing his pay to $410,000.
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