With a unanimous vote, the Board of Regents passed an operations and appropriations request of $12 million to be split among the three regent institutions. 

Iowa State, if the request is granted, will receive $5 million under the condition that it all goes toward financial aid for in-state for fiscal year 2020.

The vote followed no discussion by the regents and no questions for Brad Berg, the policy and operation officer for the board. 

This comes after over $30 million in state appropriations toward higher education were cut. Regent presidents proposed a tuition increase of 7 percent a year for in-state students and 4 percent a year for out-of-state students for five years. 

In-state tuition would raise from $7,978 to $10,457 by the end of the five years. Out-of-state tuition will raise from $22,144 to $25,905. 

The board will propose an official tuition proposal during its October meeting and will vote on the proposal in December. 

Interim President Benjamin Allen said senior leaders at Iowa State identified $22.7 million in savings when compiling a non-comprehensive list of over 115 projects.

Allen said the College of Design, through reorganizing leadership, saved $340,000 annually. The College of Liberal Arts and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering are saving a combined $140,000 each year through a joint venture in online education.

“It is our obligation and our commitment to use each and every dollar as wisely as possible. Efficiency is part of our culture at Iowa State,” Allen said. 

Allen said the university is committed to making tough decisions on what they should be doing and what they should stop doing. 

“Our elevated commitment to offer [education] as efficiently as possible and affectively as possible combined with our five year tuition plan will ensure we have the resources to fulfill our mission at the level of quality our students and all Iowans expect and deserve,” Allen said.

Regent Larry McKibben asked Allen if the savings went into a general fund or if they went to specific colleges. Allen said there is possible use of the savings across campus.

University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook said the savings of all three regent universities totaled around $60 million.