Proposed actions for low-enrolled programs go to regents

Senior vice president and provost Jason Keith told the Iowa Board of Regents April 22 that Iowa State will follow its established procedures for eliminating and consolidating degree programs as part of the under-enrolled program review directed by the board. That includes department, college and Faculty Senate committee approvals. Keith indicated the first closure could make it through that process in time for the board's June 15 meeting.

Since November, academic leaders reviewed 35 ISU graduate programs with fewer than 10 students enrolled and 12 undergraduate programs with fewer than 25 students enrolled -- thresholds established by the regents. Keith first shared decisions about those 47 degree programs with the Iowa State community in an April 2 story in Inside. Each program was placed into one of four action categories:

• Close (10)
• Consolidate or merge with another program (13); this includes merging geology and earth science programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels for consistency (undergraduate geology wasn't on the list for review)
• Receive an exemption because it addresses critical workforce needs, is related to licensure, or serves as a general umbrella program (7)
• Receive a two-year extension to assess student demand and workforce needs, and then be re-reviewed (15)

The last three programs on the list for review actually exceed the enrollment threshold and also will receive a two-year extension to explore opportunities to grow.

"It's important to consider that marketing and other resources are limited, making significant investments at the expense of larger programs may not be appropriate and could negatively impact college and department enrollments, and therefore budgets, into the future," Keith said. Some programs might be better positioned as an area of emphasis in a degree program, he noted.

"This has been a valuable exercise because it helps us remain focused on the effective and efficient delivery of our land-grant mission and historical academic strengths," he said.

Keith said students enrolled in programs identified for closure will be able to complete their degrees, but no new students will be admitted once the board approves its closure.

Parking permits

The regents approved the parking division request for a 3% increase ($2-$33) to employee parking permits for the fiscal year that begins July 1. No changes were requested for parking meters and metered lots.

Annual and seasonal permits for the Memorial Union ramp also will go up 3% this summer. The ramp is operated by the Memorial Union, not the university's parking division. No changes were requested to hourly rates or penalty fees at the ramp.

New university parking permit rates

*Includes residence department, Ames Lab staff
**Rounded to whole dollars

Regents policy: proposed changes 

The board completed the first of two required readings for six changes to its own policy manual. The final reading will come at the June meeting. The impacted chapters and changes are:

• Chapter 1.6 (tuition and fees): Creates the framework to pilot an optional tuition guarantee program at one (unspecified) regent university beginning in fall 2027 for base undergraduate resident tuition only. According to the terms, a resident undergraduate could elect to pay a single upfront premium (10% of the base tuition rate established for each fall), which remains the tuition rate for up to four consecutive academic years. 
• Chapter 1.9 (board office): Designates the board's chief operations officer as an ombuds coordinator to serve as "a neutral listener, informational resource and intermediary for constituents who have questions or concerns related to one of the regent universities." Further, the ombuds coordinator "can't guarantee confidentiality but can assist constituents in identifying available confidential resources, including coordinating with the ombuds at each regent university."
• Chapter 2.1 (human resources): Directs the board president to appoint one regent to serve as a voting member on any university search committee that selects a provost, vice president "or other direct report to the university president." 
• Chapter 2.3 (property and facilities): To address deferred maintenance challenges, introduces a data-informed approach to managing building condition and renewal. New policies will align capital investment decisions with long-term sustainability, put a three-year moratorium on net new academic space (beginning July 1), require a maintenance endowment for new facilities and establish a framework for facilities condition index (FCI) goals and reporting at each university. 
• Chapter 3.2 (admission requirements): Allows undergraduate applicants to submit standardized tests other than the ACT, which, for purposes of the Regents Admission Index, will be converted to the equivalent ACT composite score using a concordance table board staff have approved. 
• Chapter 3.7 (academic program review): Directs the board, biennially and at each university, to review all courses that fulfill undergraduate general education requirements to identify those with substantial diversity, equity and inclusion or critical race theory content.

Board president Robert Cramer focused on these policy changes during his general comments, noting they're an outcome of recent board efforts to build trust with Iowa legislators. First, he talked about the deferred maintenance strategies.

"It's our belief that it's in the state's best interest to make steady investments in our infrastructure. Just like at home, you can pay a little early or pay a lot later," he said. "After a few years of demonstrating that we're doing everything we can to right-size our campuses and get our house in order, we will be coming to them with a request for an increase in steady, annual investment in our facilities." 

Then he turned to the general education course review.

"Many of our legislators agree with us that it's better for the board to handle issues than it is to codify them. We, in turn, respect the principle of academic freedom and responsibility, and prefer the universities handle the academic issues rather than us," Cramer said. "So, we'll appoint one of our regents to work with our chief academic officer, Rachel Boon, and to work with the universities -- with the leadership and faculty -- to review our general education requirements. We want this to be the universities working through this process. 

Similar to the regents' efforts this session to build trust with legislators, "our goal is building trust with our faculty. We want to work together on this initiative rather than have the Legislature mandate changes," he said.

More Iowa State items

In other Iowa State business, the regents:

• Approved a new M.A. in User Experience (UX) Design, shared by the departments of graphic design and industrial design. The program equips students with skills to create user-centered digital products and services. These skills are highly sought in multiple technology-focused industries. The online program will begin enrolling students this fall. By year three, College of Design leaders project 60 majors in the program.
• Approved a $5.7 million second phase of a project to replace 48-inch condensed water piping, this time the piping that runs between the cooling tower west to the power plant, including piping located beneath Beach Road and adjacent sidewalks. The work is planned for spring-summer 2027. Utility repair funds will cover the project, which addresses approximately $3.5 million in deferred maintenance. 
• Student housing and dining plan rates for 2026-27: A 5% increase to room and apartment rates and a 2% increase to meal plans to cover inflationary increases and ongoing facility investments. This fall, the standard double room (no AC) with a dining center unlimited meal plan and $250 in portable dining dollars each semester will cost $11,265, an increase of $385 (3.5%) over the current rate.
• Received a summary of the regents' biennial free speech survey (PDF, pp. 17-39), administered earlier this semester via email to all faculty, staff and students. It previously was distributed in November 2021 and February 2024. Data shared reflected all student and all employee responses and wasn't broken down by campus. Board staff member Jason Pontius suggested universities look at new ways to distribute the survey to students to try to bump the participation rate, which has averaged a single digit. He also noted that the complementary board-required free speech training has had an impact, especially on student understanding and expectations.