Board of Regents Thanks Governor for Support of FY 2015 Tuition Freeze

(URBANDALE, Iowa) – The Board of Regents expresses thanks to Governor Branstad for his FY 2015 budget recommendations for Iowa’s public universities announced today. The Governor’s budget supports many of the Board’s and the universities’ top initiatives. Most importantly, the Board appreciates the Governor’s recommendation of a 4% increase in the universities’ general operating appropriations. President Rastetter confirms that this will allow the Board of Regents to freeze undergraduate resident tuition for a second consecutive year, the first time since 1975.

The Board also expresses thanks to the Governor for his commitment to restoring the financial integrity and maintaining the outstanding quality of the University of Northern Iowa with the recommendation of a $4 million addition to UNI’s base operating budget and an additional commitment of $4 million in FY 2016.

The support for the tuition freeze, UNI budget restoration, and the universities’ three critical capital projects – the Pharmacy Building at the University of Iowa, the Biosciences Facilities at Iowa State, and Schindler Education Center at UNI – clearly indicate the Governor’s commitment to public higher education in Iowa. In response, President Rastetter reaffirms the Board’s commitment to identifying additional efficiencies at Iowa’s public universities through the ongoing work of its Efficiency Task Force and Performance-Based Revenue Model Task Force.

The Board looks forward to working with the Governor, the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate in the 2014 legislative session in support of the Governor’s recommendations for the benefit of Iowa’s public universities, their students and the citizens of our state.

For More Information:

Contact: Robert Donley, Executive Director, Board of Regents, State of Iowa, (515) 281-3934