With the backdrop of an uncertain education budget and an empty campus, the Board of Regents will meet at Iowa State starting Monday to discuss the strategic plans of Iowa’s three public universities.

The board plans to discuss action on higher education in the Legislature, residence and miscellaneous fee changes and each university’s five-year strategic plan, among other issues.

“That’s Spring Break. I’m not going to be there,” Government of the Student Body Vice President William Rock said. “We’ve mentioned to both of the [executive] slates that the meeting is next week, and we’re hoping one of them will be there, especially since it’s on campus.”

Acting Board President Robert Downer said he has asked for a better review of university schedules to avoid having future meetings during university breaks.

“I don’t know exactly how the time was scheduled, but I am aware that there is a concern about this,” Downer said. “I share that concern both for students and faculty who want to attend.”

One of the agenda items to be discussed March 15 is legislation related to higher education. On March 3, the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee released a $6.3 million budget supplement for Iowa State, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. The universities had originally requested $40 million as part of the board’s Partnership for Transformation and Excellence.

The Senate’s educational spending targets were expected Wednesday, but no number was officially released. Downer said from what he has heard, the Senate’s number will be considerably higher than the House’s target. Senate Republicans have proposed $33.7 million in across-the-board spending; however, Democrats have proposed $130 million, only $8 million less than what Gov. Tom Vilsack recommended.

“This is essentially the opening round in this process, and I think a lot of things can happen over the next two months,” Downer said. “I expect the developments to be much more positive.”

Iowa State’s five-year strategic plan will also be presented to the board by Ben Allen, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

“[ISU President Gregory Geoffroy] will make brief introductory remarks, and then I will be talking about the plan,” Allen said. “The board has to approve the plans, and that is what our expectation is.”

Iowa State’s plan has been criticized by faculty members for By Jared Strong

Daily Staff Writer

The Board of Regents was praised as a “notable example” of higher education accountability in a report released by a national commission Thursday.

The 13-member National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education cited the board’s excellence in its compilation of data from the three public universities, the individual use by each university of strategic plans and the regents’ accountability framework.

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said he thinks using the board is beneficial for Iowa.

“Iowa’s education system is really a model for the nation,” Quirmbach said. “We are leaders and at the top of the list in a lot of areas.”

Acting Board President Robert Downer said he was happy to be recognized by the commission.

“Having all of the governance responsibility under one board rather than each institution having separate boards and competing allows us to make better-informed decisions outside of political pressures,” Downer said.

He said he hopes being recognized by the commission will help gain moral and monetary support from the Legislature.

“Resources are scarce at this point in time, and we all have a duty to get as much mileage from those resources as we can,” Downer said.

The House Education Appropriations Subcommittee recently released a budget target that fell well below the $40 million requested by Gov. Tom Vilsack and the board. Although only $6.3 million has been approved, Downer said he was confident that the number would be much higher from the Senate side.

Quirmbach said he didn’t know if the recent praise in the commission’s report would bolster support from other legislators on the fence.

“Our board has recognized the economic realities of the early 21st century,” Downer said.

“The Partnership for Transformation and Excellence is one very good way we have demonstrated that type of accountability and focus.”

The board was rocked in January by the resignation of three regents because of conflicts of interest and the board’s governance policies. A large hole has been left in the board by the resignations and the upcoming loss of Regent Owen Newlin when his term ends this year. Three of Vilsack’s appointees to the board have appeared before the Senate Education Committee, which is in charge of approving appointments.

“We have some superb appointees to the Board of Regents,” Quirmbach said. “They have all had very successful sessions and told us about their backgrounds and philosophies, and they have resolved some of the concerns about conflicts of interest.”

Quirmbach said new members sometimes lean too heavily on others to make decisions on unfamiliar issues.

“There has been a lingering concern that the board sometimes seems to be too much of a captive of the board’s staff and of the regents president,” Quirmbach said. “For the board to really exercise its oversight function, they’ve got to reach out, over and around to develop their own sources of knowledge of what’s going on.”