Annual visit to the Capitol highlights UNI’s statewide impact
Annual visit to the Capitol highlights UNI’s statewide impact
UNI Day at the Capitol is a chance for the university to showcase its meaningful work across the state of Iowa to our legislators across the state. Lawmakers get to see how the state’s investment in UNI programs, services and students yields a significant return. More than 20 departments were on hand Monday afternoon at this year’s event.
“This is an opportunity for us to be in the capitol with students, with faculty, with staff and talk about all the great things going on at UNI, with elected officials, their staff members and people from the community in Des Moines,” said UNI President Mark Nook.
UNI has a proven track record of keeping graduates in the state of Iowa. Forty percent of graduates from neighboring states stay in Iowa after graduation to live and work, boosting the Iowa economy. That’s why the University of Northern Iowa is taking a bold step to attract students by offering in-state tuition to students from contiguous states. Part of UNI’s appropriation request for FY26 in this workforce development initiative is $3 million to offset the tuition dollars the university would have received from those students.
“Over four years, those students are going to put at least $26 million into the Iowa economy in exchange for a $3 million investment. And in the end we get them to stay and take jobs,” Nook stated in a recent episode of Iowa Press.
UNI is already making a difference for adult and place-bound learners throughout the state with its UNI at Iowa Community Colleges (UNI@IACC) initiative. This partnership allows students who have earned an associate’s degree from one of Iowa’s 15 community colleges to pursue one of seven high-demand online degrees through UNI while paying the cost of community college tuition. With a $1.63 million new appropriation, UNI will be able to continue building on the success of UNI@IACC, which was launched with one-time federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan.
UNI will also be launching its Center for Civic Education and is requesting a $1 million new appropriation to support this endeavor. This new initiative is aimed at fostering civic engagement among students, faculty and community members. The center builds on UNI’s strong foundation in civic education.
As Iowa’s only public comprehensive university, affordability and accessibility are central to UNI’s mission. UNI is always doing what it can to keep costs low for students. UNI is hoping to hold its tuition flat for the upcoming year and achieve a tuition differential of $2,500 from both University of Iowa and Iowa State University, making the cost of UNI significantly more affordable to everyday Iowans. The current tuition differential between University of Iowa and Iowa State is $1,099. Nationally, the average difference between the regional comprehensive universities and the public flagships is $3,356.
