University Tuition Proposal for 2006-2007 Academic Year
University
SUI / ISU / UNI
Tuition Category (Please circle)
Undergraduate
Residency Status (Please circle)
Resident / Nonresident
Other classification (define as
necessary upper division, lower
division, etc.)
Proposed increase (%):
Upper level (Junior/Senior) Engineering
•
$500/year: 10.2% Resident – 3.1% Nonresident;
Discussed with leadership of:
Faculty?
YES
Staff?
YES
Students?
YES
Discussed with other university
presidents?
Provide clear and concise
explanation along with convincing
justification for proposed increase
(use as much space as necessary
and attach other documents as
appropriate, i.e. comparative peer
data)
YES
The College of Engineering is committed to providing a distinctive
educational experience which prepares engineers beyond technology.
Our all-under-one-roof interdisciplinary and personalized approach to
engineering education attracts outstanding students with multiple
talents and aspirations. Many of our students are pre-med and
enrolled in biomedical engineering, or double majors involving
languages or the arts, with a much larger female population than the
national average.
Our new Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences,
together with our innovative curriculum initiative emphasizing an
individualized curriculum for each student requiring a secondary focus
beyond traditional disciplinary training, provides an opportunity for the
College to take a substantial leap forward in quality and national
recognition. Our College aspires to be recognized internationally for
engineering education. We are poised to make substantial gains on
that goal. For example, our Fall 2005 entering class has an average
ACT composite score of approximately 28, placing them above the
93rd percentile level nationally. Approximately one-fourth of the
entering class graduated in the top 5% of their high school class and
one-half were in the top 15%. These gifted students have shown their
preference for our approach to engineering education, and they now
have very high expectations for the quality of their educational
experience at Iowa. We believe we can provide them with an
educational experience that is characteristic of the very best, but only if
we obtain additional revenues and invest them in the enhancement of
the educational programs of the College.
Currently, the total tuition revenue per student invested in engineering
education at Iowa is considerably below that at public institutions of
comparable quality. Our engineering students pay nearly the same
tuition as all other undergraduates at Iowa, even though it costs
considerably more to teach them, and they receive considerable
added career benefits. It costs more to teach engineers for several
reasons. For example, engineering is basically a laboratory science,
University Tuition Proposal for 2006-2007 Academic Year
and national accreditation standards require many more hours of
laboratory subjects for engineers than for students in liberal arts.
Furthermore, engineering is also a design-based, creative enterprise.
Design requires studios, projects, and experiential learning. Group
projects are more expensive to run than lecture courses because they
require coordination with industry, uncertainty about time
commitments, and the production of a working prototype device in the
shop. Design projects also require access to commercial grade
computer software that can be very expensive.
However, the additional cost is balanced by the high value of the
educational experience. Engineering graduates routinely receive more
job offers and higher salary offers than any other undergraduate major
at the University. Demand for engineers with a bachelor’s (B.S.)
degree is always high. In May 2005 average starting salaries for B.S.
graduates in engineering were about $50,000, with many graduates
earning much larger salaries. In comparing this salary level to the total
tuition expended on a four-year B.S. engineering degree from The
University of Iowa (including the proposed supplement), the cost of
their education is offset by the new graduate’s first five months of
income. In this sense, a B.S. engineering degree is a real bargain.
It is proposed to establish a $500 per year supplement for junior and
senior engineering students at Iowa. All additional tuition generated
would be subject to our University commitment to maintain a 16%
student aid set-aside for all supplemental tuition revenue. The plan
would provide an increase in revenues to the College of Engineering of
$250,000 depending on enrollment. This amount would begin to
provide the funds needed for the added quality and breadth of the
educational programs proposed.
All of the additional revenues will be used to provide enhancements to
the quality and breadth of the educational programs through a process
of continual innovation. For example, distinctive educational programs
for engineers are planned in the areas of writing, health sciences,
globalization and international studies, integrated design experiences,
and personalized research opportunities. Each of these programs
requires changes in what and how we teach students and enriches the
educational experiences of engineering students beyond technology.
A summary of the use of these funds includes:
Amount
Category
Student
Aid
Description
Set Aside for Student
Financial Aid @16%
$50,000
P&S
Salaries
Faculty
salaries
$125,000
$250,000
General
Expense
Total
Hanson Center for Technical
Communications
Faculty support for ABET
and curriculum revisions
Laboratory upgrades and
undergraduate student
research opportunity wages
$40,000
$35,000
University Tuition Proposal for 2006-2007 Academic Year
Peer comparison data is listed below.
2005-06 Engineering Upper Level
Tuition & Fees
Peer Institutions
Resident
Non-Resident
Michigan
Illinois
Minnesota
Ohio State
UCLA
Wisconsin
Iowa
Concisely describe how proposed
increase will assist the university in
making progress on strategic goals
and objectives
11,138
8,728
8,622
8,412
6,504
6,284
5,907
29,461
19,168
20,252
19,635
24,324
20,284
17,293
This plan is consistent with the The Iowa Promise: A Strategic Plan for
The University of Iowa 2005-2010. Specifically, the supplement will
support the following strategies:
Undergraduate Education
GOAL: To create a University experience that enriches the lives of
undergraduates and helps them to become well-informed individuals,
lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and productive employees and
employers.
Strategy: Promote excellent teaching, effective learning environments,
and learning opportunities that leverage the University’s strengths by:
• Introducing students to the process by which research,
scholarship, and creative work are produced and enabling their
participation in that process, which is the key “value added” of
a comprehensive research university;
• Developing more freshman seminars, honors courses, and
other small class venues where students can interact with
tenured faculty;
• Strengthening the honors program and other opportunities for
high-achieving students.
Strategy: Ensure that all students graduate with strong core skills, a
broad liberal arts education, and concentrated study in one or more
majors by:
• Promoting their facility for critical thinking, writing, and other
communication skills, creative endeavor, and the use of
information technology;
• Providing them with opportunities to develop leadership and
teamwork skills and an understanding of business and other
organizations;
• Reexamining our general education requirements to ensure
that course requirements foster an appreciation of the arts and
humanities; an understanding of science, technology, and
mathematics; an ability to work within and across disciplinary
boundaries; and the skills needed to participate in an
University Tuition Proposal for 2006-2007 Academic Year
•
For nonresident undergraduates,
does the tuition amount cover the
full cost of education as calculated
by the biennial unit cost study?
increasingly global environment;
Continuing efforts to internationalize the educational
experience.
N/A / YES / NO