Call to Action: Contact Your Legislator
Funding equity long overdue
The Iowa Legislature is currently considering appropriations to the three Regent universities for the fiscal year that begins in July. Included in this debate is performance-based funding (PBF), the most significant change in the Regents' approach to funding in nearly 70 years.
The Regents' request to the legislature for FY16 is based on PBF, which rewards the Regent universities for meeting board priorities. For decades, the Regents have requested funds on a "base-plus" method. That means if the legislature appropriates more money, a uniform percentage is added to the funding for the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.
Traditionally, the largest allocation has been to Iowa, with Iowa State second and UNI third. In fact, this fiscal year (FY15), the percentages are 46% to Iowa, 36% to Iowa State, and 18% to UNI. Percentages tell a story, but the actual dollar allocations really give you a sense of the inequity in the current model.
For the current year, the inequity in state support for the three Regent universities is glaring. The general operating appropriations are:
- $230.9 million for Iowa
- $180.9 million for Iowa State
- $93.2 million for UNI
If you look at it from a funding-per-resident-student perspective, a resident student who comes to UNI receives approximately $5,000 less in state support than one who attends the University of Iowa.
Of UNI's approximately 12,000 students, 90 percent are Iowa residents. This means that UNI pulls in dramatically fewer out-of-state tuition dollars than the other Regent schools, which negatively impacts UNI's bottom line. To maintain a high-quality education and add additional dollars to our general operating fund, UNI has increased out-of-state tuition and fees over the past 10 years to make up for the lack of state appropriations.
PBF is a sensible plan that links funding to performance and Iowa tax dollars to Iowa students. It's a long-term solution to a decades old funding inequity and places all three universities on a path to success by aligning variable costs with variable revenues.
In the words of the five-member task force that spent nearly one year analyzing the funding issue:
"Presently, the Board is perpetuating the priorities of yesterday rather than funding the priorities of today."
Performance-based funding is very important to UNI. We greatly appreciate the strong leadership provided by the Board of Regents in advocating for PBF and the recent statement of support from Gov. Branstad. Were committed to working with the legislature and the governor to ensure the adoption of performance-based funding. It deserves support.
We want to continue to make UNI affordable and accessible. Please take the time to send a message to your local legislators and urge them to support performance-based funding.
Thank you for your support!