With the beginning of the Iowa legislative session upon us, I hope to use this guest series to explain the roles of the following state entities when it comes to setting your tuition rates: the Iowa Legislature, the Board of Regents State of Iowa and the Governor.

This article’s focus is the Board of Regents. The board is frequently mentioned in news sources like the Des Moines Register, and the Iowa State Daily. It is clear they have a large seat at the tuition setting table. Their specific role and who they are, however, is not so clear.

Many states have a governing board for higher education. Iowa is no exception. In 1909, Iowa’s state legislature created the Board of Regents to oversee three institutions, and in the ten years after, added two K-12 schools to their responsibilities. These institutions are now Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, The University of Northern Iowa, the Iowa School for the Deaf and the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School. For brevity, I will refer to the three universities above as ‘regent universities.’

A regent is, simply put, a member of the higher education governing board. In Iowa, the Board of Regents has nine members who are appointed by the Governor, and confirmed by the Iowa Senate. They serve staggered six-year terms so there will not be a completely new board every six years. A regent volunteers their time for this role. For representative diversity, there is one regent who is a student, and there cannot be more than five regents from the same political party, or the same sex. Current members’ profiles are available on the board website.

The most important part of this position is their full authority to set tuition rates for our universities. This is written into the Iowa statutory code and has not changed since 1909. The board makes these decisions in open meetings and strongly encourages student input. They also have to have two public readings of the tuition rates before they can be approved. If you are interested in voicing your opinion on the 2019-20 rates, put the board’s Feb. 27 to 28 Iowa State meeting on your calendar.

Now, the board’s funding role is interwoven with the State Legislature and the University. Funding for higher education in Iowa comes from three sources: tuition set by the board, state funds appropriated by the State Legislature and reallocations decided by each regent university. Last year, the board requested $7 million from the State Legislature for Iowa State resident undergraduate tuition. This means the State is offsetting the tuition costs for in-state students by distributing the funds. Think of it like the state is paying part of the tuition to keep it low and affordable so more Iowans can have access to a quality education from a regent university.

All things considered, your sticker price for going here is not decided by one particular person or group. There is an interplay of multiple parties so if you are wanting to get your two cents in on affordability, click here to get in contact with the board.

If you have any additional questions about this process, do not hesitate to get in contact with me at [email protected].

Kathryn Walker is a senior in political science at Iowa State. She served as the director of governmental affairs for Student Government in the fall of 2018.