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Iowa Senate Proposes Cuts - $3.7+ million for UNI

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  • Iowa Senate Proposes Cuts - $3.7+ million for UNI

    $3.7+ million proposed cut for UNI:

    "Iowa Senate Republicans are proposing $52 million in budget cuts for the current state fiscal year that will hit hardest the budgets at state universities and community colleges, the state's justice system, and human services.

    State officials immediately responded Thursday with dire warnings of negative impacts.

    State Courts Administrator Todd Nuccio issued a statement that said courts in 30 county courthouses across Iowa will be forced to close if the spending reductions become a reality and court personnel will be eliminated statewide. The courts selected for closure will be determined by caseload volume, he said.

    Iowa Board of Regents Executive Director Mark Braun said "severe cuts" of $19 million for Iowa's three state universities will cause disruptions on campuses, because the second semester is already underway."

    Entire read at:
    "Well, that escalated quickly."

  • #2
    More financial news about UNI (I have tried posting this as it's own topic, but the forums are not allowing new topics again).

    CR Gazette: "600-student drop? UNI expecting lowest enrollment in 40-plus years"

    After peaking in 2001 at more than 14,000 students, the University of Northern Iowa’s steady decline in enrollment is expected to continue this fall with a dip below 11,000 for the first time since 1982.

    UNI President Mark Nook on Thursday told The Gazette that although projections are in flux, his administrative team is building a budget for 10,600 students in the fall — which, if realized, would mark a 600-student drop from last fall and UNI’s lowest enrollment in 43 years.

    The last time the Cedar Falls campus reported such low numbers was in 1976 when 10,537 were enrolled for credit and 9,699 were taking courses on campus, according to UNI’s Rod Library."

    Entire read:
    https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/education/600-student-drop-university-of-northern-iowa-expecting-lowest-enrollment-in-40-plus-years-20190620
    "Well, that escalated quickly."

    Comment


    • #3
      The lasting legacy of Bob Koob will be deciding to reduce enrollment between 03-05. The University was well on its way to 20,000 and he choked it off when the BOR pushed back on him rather than fighting for it.

      Missouri State and Illinois State really put the pedal down at the same point and both are at 18,000+.
      #MACtion

      Comment


      • #4
        The local voters had the poor judgement of not keeping Walt Rogers in the legislature twice in the last two years. He was probably the most effective advocate for UNI as the head of the House Education Committee and would have had a key role in the Senate as well. I suspect university employees voted about 5 to 1 against him. Actions have consequences. Just saying...

        Comment


        • #5
          That's an asinine statement, Giddens and Danielson have both been big advocates for UNI and Kressig before Rogers. How much good did it do to have Rogers head of the Ed. Com. during his terms when multiple cuts were made? None. He said he disagreed with the cuts and that's it. If he had such a key role and power he should've used it better to influence other members of his party who happily stripped away higher ed funding. This isn't the fault of local reps and voters, it's a state wide issue and has been since TB was in office and asked higher ed to absorb the majority of education cuts.

          There are many individuals in this state who have very little respect for the public education system at all levels and continue to vote for people who have made it their mission to decimate it. When I was a student at UNI in the early 2010's, I was part of a visit to the legislature. I talked with one of the local representatives from DSM, Brad Zaun, who was very blunt that he didn't understand why we needed UNI as a 3rd regent school. He had no issues saying that we didn't contribute to the state like ISU and Iowa and therefore were irrelevant to him. He is just one of the many ignorant people we have to fight against.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by panther-state View Post
            That's an asinine statement, Giddens and Danielson have both been big advocates for UNI and Kressig before Rogers. How much good did it do to have Rogers head of the Ed. Com. during his terms when multiple cuts were made? None. He said he disagreed with the cuts and that's it. If he had such a key role and power he should've used it better to influence other members of his party who happily stripped away higher ed funding. This isn't the fault of local reps and voters, it's a state wide issue and has been since TB was in office and asked higher ed to absorb the majority of education cuts.

            There are many individuals in this state who have very little respect for the public education system at all levels and continue to vote for people who have made it their mission to decimate it. When I was a student at UNI in the early 2010's, I was part of a visit to the legislature. I talked with one of the local representatives from DSM, Brad Zaun, who was very blunt that he didn't understand why we needed UNI as a 3rd regent school. He had no issues saying that we didn't contribute to the state like ISU and Iowa and therefore were irrelevant to him. He is just one of the many ignorant people we have to fight against.
            This mentality is only going to get worse now that the BOR has decided to allow duplication.

            For years much of the cuts made to UNI were because it was too close duplicating things at UI/ISU. UNI wasn't allowed to grow science majors - ie Bio - or computer science programs to levels that would meet future demands because they belonged to Iowa (premed) and Iowa State (engineering). Yet in recent years the BOR has voted to allow Iowa and Iowa State to dump millions and millions into their business/accounting and education programs which has had/will have an astounding impact on UNI's enrollment and mission.

            Comment


            • #7
              UNI has been told for 20 years that they have to look and act like a Land Grant and an R1 while having none of the advantages, or budget, of being a Land Grant or an R1. This was bound to happen.

              I'd put decent money on UNI being renamed The University of Iowa at Cedar Falls within 15 years. We'll be nothing more than a Purdue Fort Wayne style satellite campus.
              #MACtion

              Comment


              • #8
                Wouldn't it be something if the state supported UNI the way they expect UNI to act? Imagine what UNI could be.

                Also, maybe this is me "dreaming" but imagine if back in the 1960s a name other than "Northern Iowa" was chosen. The directional regional name may have doomed UNI from the start. I don't know what other names were considered. I don't know what other name would have been an option. But something that didn't just scream REGIONAL DIRECTIONAL school would have helped. I know we all **** on "Wichita isn't a state" but seriously a generic "XXX State University" would have probably helped a ton.

                Comment


                • #9
                  UNI has been poorly led in many ways since Dino Curris left. The comment about Koob above was spot on. To clarify a point, all our local representatives support UNI in theory. However, the two closest to campus are junior members of the minority party with little clout or influence. That's the way it works. Maybe some day. Giddens seems more interested in climate change and "sustainability," even to the extent of trying to inflict it on city government, than on UNI funding but if he can help, god bless him. Maybe he'll steal some of the windmill students from Iowa Lakes CC. Danielson was a quitter who split when he got a better job. Hopefully, the funding corner can be turned under new leadership. We can sure agree on that.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by BCPanther View Post
                    UNI has been told for 20 years that they have to look and act like a Land Grant and an R1 while having none of the advantages, or budget, of being a Land Grant or an R1. This was bound to happen.

                    I'd put decent money on UNI being renamed The University of Iowa at Cedar Falls within 15 years. We'll be nothing more than a Purdue Fort Wayne style satellite campus.
                    Good God, please stop. This is nonsense.

                    UNI is an established brand name school in the state of Iowa and beyond. Name an instance in any state where an established school like UNI went away or was utterly decimated? Illinois is like a trillion dollars in the hole, and SIU keeps building new facilities and keeps chugging along.

                    Things get tough for us, they always will to an extent, but lets not get too dramatic.
                    UNI FIGHT

                    Originally posted by 9YRPLAN
                    iowa sucks, fran sucks, their schedule sucks, iowa fans suck

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by 06panther10 View Post

                      Good God, please stop. This is nonsense.

                      UNI is an established brand name school in the state of Iowa and beyond. Name an instance in any state where an established school like UNI went away or was utterly decimated? Illinois is like a trillion dollars in the hole, and SIU keeps building new facilities and keeps chugging along.

                      Things get tough for us, they always will to an extent, but lets not get too dramatic.
                      My statement was a bit hyperbolic but the point stands. UNI has been done zero favors when it comes to being treated like its true peer institutions.
                      #MACtion

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        If the state actually allows UNI duplication for science areas, engineering and biology/medical would be number one on my list of advancement/growth. Our local area is flush with industries that would eat up graduates with Mechanical and Industrial Engineering degrees as well as nursing and would support the growth of UNI in those areas so they can support them in return.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          If duplication is allowed it does open a window of opportunity for UNI as well.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by EVSPanther View Post
                            If duplication is allowed it does open a window of opportunity for UNI as well.
                            This is what I was thinking as well. If ISU and Iowa are now going to be allowed to duplicate programs, then why not UNI? It should be a two way street, but it probably wont be.
                            "They keep saying that what really matters is not whether you win or lose, but how you played the game. The trouble is that the best way to determine how you played the game is by whether you won or lost." - Anonymous

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I can say from serving on the Department of Technology advisory board, UNI is not being allowed to expand program scope into engineering. In fact we had laid out plans to move to a School of Technology bringing in programs like Computer Science under that umbrella but have largely met roadblocks in Des Moines. The administration is supportive but there is no funding to bring in the professors needed for a move like that. Heck we continue to get kicked down the road to renovate the ITC which was designed to teach future Industrial Technology teachers in the 70's into something relevant for today's students.

                              BTW - I love the idea of having an industrial and manufacturing engineering program at UNI but for now we are settling for Manufacturing Enigneering Technology and Electrical Engineering Technology programs.
                              If computers ruled college basketball the way they do football, we'd have skipped all this March Madness monotony and just waited a month for the Kansas-Kentucky title game. And watched Northern Iowa play Cornell in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl. ~ Dwight Perry The Seattle Times

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