House panel votes to aim some Iowa Tuition Grant funds for high-demand jobs
A bill that would reserve half of state-funded grant dollars for private-university students seeking degrees in high-demand job fields passed through the Iowa House Higher Education Committee Tuesday with worries lingering about possible impacts on students and faith-based degree programs.
The Iowa Tuition Grant program offers need-based scholarships to students attending Iowa's private universities, with a maximum award amount of $8,500 in the 2024-2025 academic year. Currently funded at more than $52 million, Gov. Kim Reynolds has recommended state allocations of nearly $53.8 million for fiscal year 2026, according to the Iowa Budget Report.
House Study Bill 62 would require half of that amount to go to students enrolled in majors that relate to high-wage and high-demand careers, determined by a list that would be developed by Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
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'This concept obviously still needs some work yet here, but I would like to keep this vehicle alive as we are approaching the funnel to keep this conversation going,' said Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis.
Under the Legislature's self-imposed 'funnel' deadline, most policy bills need to clear a committee in the House or Senate by the end of this week to be considered eligible for further debate. There are exceptions to the rule and some bills may be revived after missing the deadline.
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, agreed with Collins's statement about the legislation still needing work, saying the Legislature needs to look hard at any unintended consequences of the bill before it could become law.
Private university leaders and lobbyists voiced concerns during the bill's subcommittee meeting that these changes would disproportionately impact faith-based institutions and hurt low-income students who need the Iowa Tuition Grant the most.
Konfrst said she worries most about putting salaries, which can be fluid, in code and what could happen to students who enter college undecided about what major to pursue.
While Konfrst said she knows the intent behind the bill, to focus education more on workforce needs, she added she has many questions about its implementation and potential impacts.
'I can go on about the idea of critical thinking and the importance of other majors. I know some of (grant dollars) go toward this, so I'm not going to get into an argument about that, but I had a boss who once said that the people who only know how will always work for the people who also know why,' Konfrst said. 'And you learn why in college, you learn a lot of this stuff not just from business classes or high needs classes, but from others, and so I think we need to make sure we're not excluding those majors.'
The bill will move ahead to the House floor with a 7-3 vote.
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