Iowa’s Board of Regents will convene Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Iowa, covering a wide range of topics that will impact students at the three regent universities in Iowa.

Spanning from 11 a.m. to shortly after 3 p.m., day one of the meetings will focus primarily on funding requests from Iowa schools alongside reports on metrics for each, including investment earnings and audit reports.

Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa all rely on and work with the Board of Regents to get approval for changes to their higher education programs — new buildings, program changes and requests for funding all go through the board.

Wednesday’s meeting will open with requests regarding buildings and property, with Iowa State asking for permission to begin planning for a new veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Submitted plans state the construction has an estimated cost of $75 million and would require the demolition of Veterinary Medical Research Institute buildings 1, 12, and 35.

Educational and program-related requests will follow. Iowa State has submitted a request to split the Department of Supply Chain and Informational Systems into the Department of Supply Chain Management and the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics in an effort to grow their international reputations.

Iowa State has also submitted requests for two new programs. One of the programs, Bachelor of Science in Cyber Security Engineering, is the first of its kind in Iowa. According to the submitted proposal, students in the program would take the core of the already existing computer engineering program with additional classes focusing on cyber security. This would allow students to earn a degree in a field with strong expected growth.

An additional program request was submitted by both Iowa State and the University of Iowa in order to create a Doctor of Education Program. Iowa State’s submission states this degree would replace two existing programs within the School of Education: A 30-credit Certificate of Advanced Study and a doctorate with emphasis on community college leadership.

The document also emphasizes the need for highly-educated educators in the state of Iowa in teaching and administrative roles. It says this need is exacerbated by an aging workforce in school superintendent positions.

Day two of the meetings begins at 9:15 a.m. and will primarily consist of administrative matters and the congregation of committees. Several matters from the first day will be re-discussed within the context of their relevant committee. Board of Regents meetings are open to the public and can be live streamed on their website.