2015 legislative session from a budget perspective

Thank you for your efforts in supporting the University of Northern Iowa this legislative session!

More than 80 percent of UNI graduates either get their first job in Iowa or pursue post-graduate education within the state. In short, UNI educates Iowa students who become Iowa professionals and Iowa taxpayers.

Although the legislature did not appropriate dollars in accordance to the Board of Regents Performance-Based Funding model, the spirit of the model was recognized by appropriating differing amounts to each institution. While we’re disappointed with this outcome, the university is very grateful for the resources the legislature did appropriate. By increasing our base operations budget by $5.1 million, the legislature recognized that 90 percent of our enrollment is resident students, which makes us much more dependent on state appropriations.

The legislature approved one-time funding increases for the three Regent universities equal to 1.25 percent of each school's base funding for the current fiscal year, providing UNI an additional $1.1 million. It is also recommended that the Regent universities freeze tuition for the fall 2015 semester.

We thank the legislature for their hard work and commitment during this year's session and for beginning to address UNI's unique funding challenges. We will remain vigilant in looking for efficiencies, and we look forward to continuing the conversation on implementing a more permanent correction to UNI's structural funding problem.

A breakdown of UNI appropriations:

• $5.1 million in recurring dollars for operations
• $1.1 million in one-time funding for nonrecurring expenses
• $30.9 million for the renovation of Schindler Education Center in FY 2016 and FY 2017
• Nearly $2 million for our economic development efforts
• $5.2 million for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) collaborative initiative

The 2015 legislative session adjourned on June 5. Governor Branstad has 30 days from the legislature’s adjournment to take action on budget bills.