The Iowa Board of Regents is asking lawmakers to create a $40 million per-year program to provide financial aid to low-income students as part of a plan to eliminate tuition dollars used for that purpose.
The regents Wednesday discussed recommendations from a committee charged with eliminating a practice of setting aside 15 percent of tuition revenue for financial aid. The practice, known as tuition set-aside, came under fire for forcing middle-class students to subsidize their classmates with financial aid and merit scholarships.
The plan discussed by the regents would call on the university's foundations to raise money for merit-based scholarships, and state legislators to pony up $39.5 million for roughly 14,000 low-income students.
The plan calls for regents to reduce tuition for students in 2014 by the amount lawmakers approve.
