The head of the Iowa Board of Regents says Iowa is behind other states in performance-based funding for public universities.
Bruce Rastetter briefed lawmakers on the new formula to give Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa more funding and the University of Iowa less based on enrollment of in-state students. Rastetter says this is not cutting edge.
“We’re the 34th state to do it,” Rastetter says. “Arguably we could have been quicker doing this. So we tried to address fairness in funding.
The University of Iowa has stepped up its efforts to enroll more in-state students. Critics say community colleges will lose enrollment as a result.
Rastetter says starting 70 years ago, money was distributed by a 40-40-20 formula. He says the University of Iowa’s share has grown over the years.
“That allocation has changed to 47%, 37%, and 17% to UNI,” Rastetter says. “So it has clearly changed even from what the initial thoughts were.”
The universities will also be rewarded for graduating students on time and boosting low-income and minority enrollment. The Regents have asked for 12 million dollars to help cushion the blow to the University of Iowa with the new formula, but the governor has put only four million dollars in his budget.