Hunter
01/27/26
A state Senate subcommittee advanced a proposal that would freeze tuition for in-state students entering their first year starting in 2027.
The Daily Iowan reports Jill Carlson, state relations officer at Iowa Board of Regents, said the board completed a study on the impacts of tuition guarantees, and submitted its findings in November. The report follows legislation signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May 2025, requiring the board to examine the subject and present their findings to the state.
Carlson said all three regents institutions have significantly lower tuition rates than the averages of schools in their peer groups. She also said that other institutions that have implemented tuition freezes have rolled back the policy.
Democratic Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames said universities would be forced to frontload tuition costs to sustain costs over a four-year collegiate stay. He also said the bill doesn’t address the different tuition amounts across majors at the University of Iowa, Iowa State, and the University of Northern Iowa.