Iowa Board of Regents approve university residence system rates, hear tuition proposals

The Iowa Board of Regents approved residence system rates and heard proposed tuition and fee rates for state universities Friday. (Logo via Iowa Board of Regents)

The Iowa Board of Regents received reports on proposed tuition and fee increases and approved residence system rates for state universities for the upcoming academic year at its Friday meeting.

Residence system rates, which include housing and dining plans, were approved by the board through the consent agenda. Regent David Barker recused himself from the vote. Regents spokesperson Josh Lehman said in an email that he did so to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, as he owns apartments in the Iowa City area.

With the approval, the housing and meal plans at each of the universities will see varying increases, according to board documents. Costs for the most popular double residence hall room and meal plans will go up by 4.8% to $12,318 at the University of Iowa with the addition of $200 Hawkeye Dollars, 5.8% to $10,286 at Iowa State University and 3.5% to $9,986 at the University of Northern Iowa.

Board of Regents staff also presented to the board the proposed tuition and mandatory fees for the universities in the 2024-25 academic year. If approved, the UI and ISU would raise tuition rates for in-state undergraduate students by 3%, and UNI would increase tuition by 2%. The universities have also proposed varying increases in tuition and fees for nonresident undergraduate students and all graduate students, as well as making requests for different increases or a freeze on tuition for certain programs.

The board had no discussion on the tuition and fee rates, and no action will be taken to approve them until its June meeting.

Each of the state universities’ 2023-24 tuition sit below the average cost of their peer colleges, according to the board of regents document, coming in at or below the middle of the pack for undergraduate tuition and fees. The UI has the lowest nonresident undergraduate tuition and fees of all of its peer universities.

ISU is the only Iowa university to have above-average tuition and fees for graduate students, both resident and nonresident. In-state tuition and fees for ISU graduate students in the 2023-24 school year totaled $12,451, around $800 more than the average among its peers, and the $29,303 cost for non-resident students is almost $3,000 more than the average.

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