The Iowa Board of Regents will meet Wednesday and Thursday in Iowa City, where it will discuss 2016-17 tuition increases — notably a proposed $500 per year increase in fees for three years for non-immigrant international students at Iowa State — as well as the request to create a new research center at Iowa State and a graduate and professional student financial retention initiative.

The board is considering a 3 percent tuition increase for undergraduate resident students at the University of Iowa for the 2016-17 school year. Undergraduate resident tuition was raised by 3 percent for Iowa State and University of Northern Iowa students for the Spring 2016 semester and will not increase for the 2016-17 school year under the proposed plan.

The board will also consider raising non-immigrant international student fees by $500 per year for the next three years at Iowa State, per Iowa State’s request.

 “There are higher costs associated with providing services for international students,” said Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost. “What’s been the case up to this point is that those costs have grown over the years, and it’s come to a point where we think it’s appropriate to have supplemental tuition for students who are really benefitting from those services.”

The board will also consider Iowa State’s request to create a Center for Statistics and Application in Forensic Evidence. The purpose of the proposed center is to provide a national research facility in forensic sciences, according to the regents’ docket.

A third item scheduled for discussion is a graduate and professional student financial retention initiative organized by the professional student governments at the three regent universities. 

The initiative would include a 50 percent income tax break for Iowa-educated graduate and professional students who work in Iowa after graduation, and a 75 percent income tax break for graduates who work in rural Iowa after graduation.

The only action taken will be the presentation of the tax break, and the group has sent its proposal to Gov. Terry Branstad.