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The University of Iowa, facing tight budgets, decided to roll back scholarships for students, and state lawmakers have wasted no time in condemning the decision, The Quad-City Times reported.
As many as 2,440 current students will be affected by the slash in scholarship money, beginning this fall.
Iowa House Speaker Linda Upmeyer called it “politics at its worst” and said the university could have avoided hurting its students by pulling from the $2 billion it raised in a recent fund-raising campaign. “It’s very disappointing that the University of Iowa is choosing to play politics with scholarships and the lives of parents and students,” Upmeyer, a Republican, said in a statement.
Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg also expressed his concern about the move. “This is really bad,” Hogg said. “I have already communicated with the University of Iowa that if there’s any way they can avoid doing this, they should do that. But I’m imploring this body and this Legislature to act.”
The scholarship change comes after the university learned it would lose $8 million in state appropriations during the current fiscal year. The university said it will only drop nonmerit and non-need-based scholarships -- like its scholarship for students whose parent or guardian is an alumnus. All together, the scholarship changes are expected to save the university $4.3 million.
In response to Upmeyer’s suggestion that the university use money from its $2 billion stash from the fund-raising campaign, the university president said those funds must be used according to donors’ preferences.
