What is the Board of Regents?

Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter explains to the media why tuition increases might be necessary.

Emily Clement
January 26, 2017

You may have heard of the Board of Regents but do not know what it actually does. Here are some quick facts on what it is and what it does:

According to the Iowa Board of Regents website:

The Iowa Board of Regents is filled with nine citizens who are appointed by the governor and then confirmed by the Iowa Senate.
Each citizen is to serve staggered six-year terms.
One member must be a graduate or undergraduate of each institution.
There can’t be more than five members in the same political party.
They look over five educational institutions – 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.
Its purpose is to maintain the educational quality, accessibility and public service activities of these five educational institutions.
It must meet at least four times a year.
Meetings are open to the public unless the law allows the meetings to be private for specific reasons.
The money that supports the Iowa Board of Regents comes from the state of Iowa, as well as tuition revenues from the three public universities.