who before the start of the Legislative session promised to undertake a broad review of higher education delivery in Iowa — have proposed a bill that would cap tuition increases and expand the nine-member Board of Regents to include two “non-voting” members of the Legislature.
One of the two new “ex officio” regents would be designated by the majority leader of the Senate and the other would be designated by the speaker of the House, according to House File 2327, introduced Monday.
The proposal also would alter how the board hires presidents to lead the three public universities under its purview — a task regents historically have called their most important job.
For starters, the bill would require the board use a “presidential selection committee” — made up of a subset of regents — to recommend the best candidate for the job. Currently, universities filling presidential vacancies appoint search committees of campus constituents to recommend finalists to the full Board of Regents — which meets in closed session to agree on a hire.
The proposed bill would not allow the full board to hire a president “unless the presidential selection committee recommended the election of the president to the board.”
As part of its work, according to the bill, the presidential selection committee would be allowed to contract with and pay any person “engaged in the business of placing highly qualified job candidates in leadership positions.”
The names of finalists — which have been made public in the past — “shall be confidential and shall not be a public record,” under the proposed bill.
Related to the establishment of tuition rates across the public universities, the proposed bill would cap increases for baccalaureate degrees at 3 percent. Last summer, the Board of Regents approved tuition and fee increases of 3.5 percent for in-state undergraduates.
Other new rules the bill would impose on the universities relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion — cementing into law DEI recommendations the full Board of Regents issued its campuses in the fall.
They include:
The regent structure and powers bill is among several higher education-related measures Iowa lawmakers have proposed so far this session — including HF 2320, which was introduced two weeks ago as HF 2128. It would require proof of citizenship or lawful presence in the country for a community college or regent university student to receive in-state tuition and fee rates.
The University of Iowa, for example, does not require proof of citizenship for residency classification, officials told The Gazette. But its registrar’s website spells out ways “U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Green Card holders)” can establish Iowa residency.
Those requirements include working in Iowa for at least 1,560 hours over 12 consecutive months or making at least $18,441 over a year and complying with a list of additional requirements — like getting an Iowa driver’s license, filing annual Iowa resident income tax returns, and not relying on financial resources from outside Iowa.
Several measures aim to support students financially, including one piece of legislation requiring community colleges and Iowa’s public universities to establish a program allowing students to get an associate’s or bachelor’s degree while working part-time for an “employer registered under the program.”
The measure would require the employer to pay “all of the tuition and mandatory fees associated with the student’s participation in the associate’s or baccalaureate degree program during the fall and spring semesters.” And it would require the employer to pay the student at least minimum wage.
Senate File 2125 would establish a U.S. Army Reserve Service Scholarship Program. And House File 2192 would provide for a “standing appropriation” for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
In January, lawmakers proposed — among their first regent-related bills — HF 2077, requiring universities to cancel the “recognition and registration” of any student organization that supports or endorses “terrorism or certain specified terrorist organizations.”
Going further, the measure would bar students “who support or endorse terrorism or certain specified terrorist organizations” from getting certain types of financial aid — like any available under the Iowa Tuition Grants program.
The bill doesn’t explicitly define terrorism or terrorist organizations but directs the attorney general to notify a public university or community college within 15 days of a student organization registering as promoting any organization “designated by the United States secretary of state as a foreign terrorist organization.”
Upon receiving such notice, a university or community college must cancel the student org’s registration or face “action” from the attorney general.
In November, Iowa Democratic Party leadership engaged in a public tiff with the University of Iowa student Democrats for what the state leaders called an “antisemitic” social media post.
That post voiced support for Palestine, announcing, “The ongoing violence against millions of innocent people is egregious and the perpetuation of it by the United States of America and other western states is even more so.”
That statement ended with the line: “May every Palestinian live long and free, from the river to the sea” — prompting widespread backlash from regents to lawmakers to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Fellow student Democrats at Iowa State supported their UI counterparts, though, as did leaders of the state party’s Arab American caucus.
www.thegazette.com
One of the two new “ex officio” regents would be designated by the majority leader of the Senate and the other would be designated by the speaker of the House, according to House File 2327, introduced Monday.
The proposal also would alter how the board hires presidents to lead the three public universities under its purview — a task regents historically have called their most important job.
For starters, the bill would require the board use a “presidential selection committee” — made up of a subset of regents — to recommend the best candidate for the job. Currently, universities filling presidential vacancies appoint search committees of campus constituents to recommend finalists to the full Board of Regents — which meets in closed session to agree on a hire.
The proposed bill would not allow the full board to hire a president “unless the presidential selection committee recommended the election of the president to the board.”
As part of its work, according to the bill, the presidential selection committee would be allowed to contract with and pay any person “engaged in the business of placing highly qualified job candidates in leadership positions.”
The names of finalists — which have been made public in the past — “shall be confidential and shall not be a public record,” under the proposed bill.
Related to the establishment of tuition rates across the public universities, the proposed bill would cap increases for baccalaureate degrees at 3 percent. Last summer, the Board of Regents approved tuition and fee increases of 3.5 percent for in-state undergraduates.
Other new rules the bill would impose on the universities relate to diversity, equity, and inclusion — cementing into law DEI recommendations the full Board of Regents issued its campuses in the fall.
They include:
- Barring the universities from hiring any new administrators without board approval;
- Directing them to eliminate any diversity, equity, and inclusion functions not necessary for federal or state laws or accreditation;
- Requiring they update promotional information and websites to clarify that DEI or multicultural offices “support success broadly”;
- Barring them from compelling anyone on campus to submit a DEI statement, disclose pronouns, or be evaluated based on participation in DEI initiatives.
- Mandating each university develop an employee policy about the separation of personal political advocacy from his or her job duties;
- And requiring the universities to adopt policies and procedures aimed at recruiting a more intellectually- and philosophically-diverse faculty and staff.
Other proposals
The regent structure and powers bill is among several higher education-related measures Iowa lawmakers have proposed so far this session — including HF 2320, which was introduced two weeks ago as HF 2128. It would require proof of citizenship or lawful presence in the country for a community college or regent university student to receive in-state tuition and fee rates.
The University of Iowa, for example, does not require proof of citizenship for residency classification, officials told The Gazette. But its registrar’s website spells out ways “U.S. citizens and permanent residents (Green Card holders)” can establish Iowa residency.
Those requirements include working in Iowa for at least 1,560 hours over 12 consecutive months or making at least $18,441 over a year and complying with a list of additional requirements — like getting an Iowa driver’s license, filing annual Iowa resident income tax returns, and not relying on financial resources from outside Iowa.
Several measures aim to support students financially, including one piece of legislation requiring community colleges and Iowa’s public universities to establish a program allowing students to get an associate’s or bachelor’s degree while working part-time for an “employer registered under the program.”
The measure would require the employer to pay “all of the tuition and mandatory fees associated with the student’s participation in the associate’s or baccalaureate degree program during the fall and spring semesters.” And it would require the employer to pay the student at least minimum wage.
Senate File 2125 would establish a U.S. Army Reserve Service Scholarship Program. And House File 2192 would provide for a “standing appropriation” for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Bill targeting ‘terrorism’
In January, lawmakers proposed — among their first regent-related bills — HF 2077, requiring universities to cancel the “recognition and registration” of any student organization that supports or endorses “terrorism or certain specified terrorist organizations.”
Going further, the measure would bar students “who support or endorse terrorism or certain specified terrorist organizations” from getting certain types of financial aid — like any available under the Iowa Tuition Grants program.
The bill doesn’t explicitly define terrorism or terrorist organizations but directs the attorney general to notify a public university or community college within 15 days of a student organization registering as promoting any organization “designated by the United States secretary of state as a foreign terrorist organization.”
Upon receiving such notice, a university or community college must cancel the student org’s registration or face “action” from the attorney general.
In November, Iowa Democratic Party leadership engaged in a public tiff with the University of Iowa student Democrats for what the state leaders called an “antisemitic” social media post.
That post voiced support for Palestine, announcing, “The ongoing violence against millions of innocent people is egregious and the perpetuation of it by the United States of America and other western states is even more so.”
That statement ended with the line: “May every Palestinian live long and free, from the river to the sea” — prompting widespread backlash from regents to lawmakers to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Fellow student Democrats at Iowa State supported their UI counterparts, though, as did leaders of the state party’s Arab American caucus.
Bill would cap tuition increases, add lawmakers to Iowa Board of Regents
Lawmakers have proposed a bill that would expand the nine-member Board of Regents to include two “non-voting” members of the Legislature. It also would cap tuition rates across the public universities at 3 percent for undergraduate students.
www.thegazette.com
