Iowa Board of Regents vote to increase universities’ tuition, raise presidents’ wages

Students at Iowa’s public universities will see higher tuition and fees in the 2025-26 academic year following the Iowa Board of Regents’ vote June 12 to approve rate increases across the board.

The new rates apply to resident and nonresident students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and mark the second consecutive year of tuition hikes.

Base tuition for undergraduate students at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University will rise by 3%, translating to increases of $279 and $278, respectively. At the University of Northern Iowa, undergraduates will see a 2.7% increase, or $228.

During the same meeting, the board also voted to raise the annual salaries of the three university presidents.

In the original proposal, UNI would offer contiguous states the same tuition rate as resident students contingent on incremental state funding at $3 million, which was approved at the board’s September 2024 meeting.

However, “those proposed rates were based on funding that was included in the education appropriations bill, and with the governor's recent veto of the funding for that initiative, we'd like to take action on those three rates at a subsequent meeting,” said Board of Regents Chief Business Officer Brad Bird.

The board unanimously approved the proposed new rates, with the exception of UNI’s contiguous state proposal.

‘Undue financial hardship’

At the board’s meeting Wednesday, University of Iowa student and graduate research assistant Anne Moore spoke against the increase in tuition and fees during the public comment period.

“Graduate workers at the University of Iowa are some of the lowest paid in the Big 10 Conference,” she said, calling the tuition hike an “undue financial burden” to students and outlined the financial hardships faced by many.

“As regents of a public university, it is your duty to keep education accessible and affordable to the people of Iowa. You say you want to attract and retain students with ties to Iowa, but you make education in this state increasingly out of reach with these fees and tuition increases,” she continued, pointing out the multi-million dollar capital business projects proposed in the agenda.

Presidents, executive director receive salary increase

On the heels of the board’s approval of tuition hikes for the upcoming academic year, regents approved salary increases for the university presidents and the board’s executive director.

Board Executive Director Mark Braun will receive a base salary of $176,384 and a new deferred compensation plan with annual contributions of $230,000 through June 30, 2027.

University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson’s base salary will increase to $825,000. Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen, who plans to retire in January 2026, will see her salary rise to $735,000; and University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook’s salary will increase to $410,000.

Last year, presidents Wilson and Wintersteen received a $60,000 salary increase, while President Nook received a boost of $25,000.