New honor for UNI's Real Estate Program gives graduates a leg up

The University of Northern Iowa Real Estate Program recently received a prestigious endorsement from The Appraisal Foundation, the industry’s nonprofit professional organization. The endorsement means UNI students have a significant leg up when they graduate.  

UNI offers the only four-year real estate program in Iowa, and it's now only the second undergraduate program in the nation to be approved by the Foundation's Appraiser Qualifications Board.

It means UNI real estate graduates, retroactive to 2005, are able to satisfy 267 of 300 credit hours needed for the Certified General Appraiser license, a major component of the credentialing process.

This endorsement is not only significant for UNI, but also for the state of Iowa. In the past 10 years, 75 percent of UNI real estate graduates, more than 400 individuals, have chosen to stay in the state.

In addition to this prestigious endorsement, six UNI real estate students recently won the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association's 2013 University Challenge.  Bringing home first place honors were Tyler Siegworth, Shay Trask, Eric Bohnenkamp, Gabe Tovar, Eric Caldwell and Keegan Wilkening.