The Board of Regents discussed their affirmative action and diversity report, considered parking rate changes at the Memorial Union Parking Ramp and announced the graduation and retention report during the second day of their two day meeting.

The Board of Regents oversees all three large Iowa public universities and two special preschool and K-12 schools.

The affirmative action and diversity report displays the overall progress in the percentage of females and minority groups over the last 10 years in faculty ranks.

For October 2018, 50.5 percent of the total workforce for the university were women with 17.3 percent of the total being minorities. Compared to October 2008, that is a .03 percent increase in women faculty and a 6.9 percent rise in minority faculty.

The board also considered rate changes for parking permits. Currently, Iowa State University contains 19,338 available parking spaces, and the proposed changes affect everyone, from vendors to students.

The proposition includes a five dollar increase in academic year prices for commuter students, residence halls, student accessible, Student Government and stadium passes. On an annual fee basis, 24-Hour reserved passes receive a $25 increase while vendors receive a $15 increase. Departmental employees also receive a $10 increase in price, and the general staff would receive a $5 increase for passes.

Chad Jacobson, a worker from the Iowa State Department of Music and Theatre, said the increase “seems like an unfair tax on staff” and “feels like a slap in the face.”

Jacobson also said his parking costs “$140 more than it did ten years ago.”

The Memorial Union Parking Ramp would also acquire additional changes to parking. For the Memorial Union employee and annual permits, a $12 increase was proposed. Fall, winter and spring permits also received a six dollar raise, while summer permits only saw a five dollar boost. No other changes were proposed to the MU Parking Ramp, and the additional revenue would be put towards replacing old equipment and supporting upkeep of the parking ramp.

The board closed with the annual Graduation and Retention Report for Fall 2017 to Fall 2018. In 2018 the Iowa State one-year retention rate was 87.5 percent for the entering class of fall 2017, exceeding the 10-year average of 86.5 percent and topping both the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

“Opportunities to connect with students [and] with industries and companies is a key contributor to how our students have such a high placement rate,” said Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen. “Right now, around 94 percent of our students have a job within 6 months after graduation and many of those students have jobs before graduation.”

John D. Lawrence, Iowa State vice president of extension and outreach said that Iowa State broke a record last year as they confirmed 8,300 degrees.

During the time for public comment, Clarisa Gonzales, an engineering student at Iowa State and member of Iowa Student Action, advocated against rising tuition costs.

“The school hikes tuition just to waste money on a building we don’t even need … At the end of the day, it’s honestly dreaming crushing,” Gonzales said.

The next Board of Regents meeting will be held April 18th and 19th in Iowa City at the University of Iowa.