Providing for career development information for students newly enrolling in institutions of higher education and including applicability provisions

Description

Senate File 2302 requires an institution governed by the State Board of Regents (BOR), and the board of directors of each private institution that participates in the Iowa Tuition Grant (ITG) Program, to schedule a meeting for each newly enrolled undergraduate student with the career development office. The meeting must occur during the student’s first year of enrollment, during new student orientation, or during the period between acceptance and orientation. The meeting may be conducted in person or by electronic means. The Bill lists the required topics and materials that are to be covered in these academic advisory meetings.

If a student does not attend the scheduled meeting, the institution must attempt to contact and reschedule the student using both electronic mail and telephone, with up to five contact attempts by each method. An institution is not required to schedule a meeting for a student who has already completed a comparable advising meeting at another institution. The Bill applies to students enrolling in an institution of higher education for the first time on or after July 1, 2026.

Background

The ITG program provides need-based financial assistance to Iowa residents attending eligible private, not-for-profit colleges and universities in Iowa and is administered by the Iowa College Student Aid Commission pursuant to Iowa Code section 256.189.

During the 2024-2025 academic year (FY 2025), 8,152 students received awards, totaling approximately $56.5 million in grant funding, with a maximum award of $8,500 and an average award of $6,929. Participating institutions are required to provide a dollar-for-dollar institutional match, and institutions provided approximately $128.7 million in matching funds to recipients. For FY 2026, the General Fund appropriation for the ITG is approximately $53.8 million.

Assumptions

• The BOR estimates that the following number of applicable students (first-year and transfer) will meet this Bill’s requirement each year.
• 7,000 students at the State University of Iowa (SUI).
• 7,511 students at Iowa State University (ISU).
• 1,500 students at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).
• An academic career advisor full-time equivalent (FTE) position at a Regents institution is assumed to complete approximately 42 meetings per five-day workweek, which reflects a standard advising load during peak enrollment periods.
• These meetings are estimated to take place over a 30-week duration.
• Across all three institutions, the estimated salary and benefits of an academic career advisor is $70,000.
• The number of estimated FTE positions required to meet this demand is as follows:
• SUI will be required to hire 5.75 FTE positions.
• ISU will be required to hire 6.0 FTE positions.
• UNI will be required to hire 1.25 FTE positions.
• The time required to conduct an advising meeting and the time required to complete follow-up contact attempts are equivalent on average across the student population.
• Assuming that 25.0% of the FY 2025 ITG student recipients fall under the Bill’s requirements, the number of required advisors spread across all 28 private, not-for-profit institutions would require an additional 0.9 FTE position. This additional workload will be absorbed among existing resources at the independent colleges and universities.

Fiscal Impact

Senate File 2302 is expected to have an annual recurring cost beginning in FY 2027 to the three Regents institutions totaling $910,000 per year:

• SUI - $403,000 and 5.75 FTE positions
• ISU - $420,000 and 6.0 FTE positions
• UNI - $88,000 and 1.25 FTE positions

The fiscal impact to the independent colleges and universities is expected to be minimal.

Sources

• Board of Regents
• Legislative Services Agency calculations