Board of Regents approves 2025-26 tuition and mandatory fees; UNI nonresident rates deferred

The Iowa Board of Regents on June 12, 2025, approved the proposed tuition and mandatory student fees for the 2025–26 academic year, with one item deferred for later consideration: UNI—s proposed undergraduate nonresident rates for students from states contiguous to Iowa.

Board staff said the tuition proposals were prepared based on funding in the state education appropriations bill; the governor—s recent veto of a funding initiative prompted the board to defer action on UNI—s contiguous‑state nonresident rates and consider those rates at a subsequent meeting.

Brad Berg of the Board of Regents office presented the item and summarized the campus proposals. The board record shows the proposed resident undergraduate tuition increases are 3.0% at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University and 2.7% at the University of Northern Iowa. The board also voted to approve the allocation of campus student activities and services fees and building fees as recommended by campus student fee committees.

Regent Rouse moved to approve the tuition and mandatory fees for 2025–26 as outlined in the agenda (with the exception of UNI—s contiguous‑state nonresident rates), and Regent Hensley seconded. A roll‑call vote recorded unanimous approval of the motion among voting regents present.

What the vote did — and did not — do - Approved: the proposed resident undergraduate tuition increases for the University of Iowa (3.0%), Iowa State University (3.0%) and the University of Northern Iowa (2.7%); the allocation of student activities/services fees and building fees; the common and program‑specific fees described in the docket. - Deferred: UNI—s proposed undergraduate nonresident rates for students from states contiguous to Iowa, to be taken up at a later meeting because legislative funding that informed those rates was vetoed.

The board did not adopt any campus‑specific programmatic changes as part of the vote. Staff said the approved rates take effect with the fall 2025 semester, except for the deferred UNI rate item.

Speakers quoted in this report spoke during the tuition discussion on June 12 and are identified in the article—s speaker list below.

Looking ahead Board staff and campus leaders will return with the deferred UNI contiguous‑state nonresident proposal after campuses and the board have time to reconcile the tuition model with the governor—s vetoed appropriation.