The new school year is almost here.
With that comes a surge of students at Iowa’s largest public university with classes set to start on Monday, Aug. 24.
Here’s what to know before classes get underway at the University of Iowa:
Students face 3% tuition increase as UI tightens budget
University of Iowa undergraduate students will see a 3% tuition increase this fall, raising the annual price for full-time undergraduate residents to $11,971, a $287 bump in base tuition.
Nonresident undergraduate tuition and fees will increase by $537, bringing the total to $34,247 for the upcoming school year.
The tuition hike comes as the UI works to become more efficient amid stagnant state funding, inflation, and a looming enrollment cliff.
The tuition increase will boost the UI’s general education budget by $22 million, with the majority allocated to personnel and to address inflation’s impact on supply costs.
UI completes new Health Sciences Building, continues other projects
The UI has dozens of capital improvement projects planned during the new year, while several were finished over the summer.
Construction of the new $178 million Health Sciences Academic Building finished in July. The six-story building will house academic, administrative, clinical, and research space for communication sciences and disorders, physical therapy rehabilitation sciences, and health and human physiology.
Construction will also continue on the Iowa Memorial Union, with completion expected in August 2027. Work on a new parking ramp for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is also underway, with completion expected in February 2027.
Renovations at the old art building, which was destroyed in the 2008 flood, are expected to be completed in the fall. The building will be the new home of the UI Graduate College.
The university is also continuing renovations on the Iowa Advanced Technologies Laboratory to make way for the computer science program, expected to finish by June 2027.
University of Iowa shutters cultural studies departments
The Iowa Board of Regents approved the UI’s request to shutter the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and African American Studies departments following a board-mandated workforce alignment review.
The university said no faculty will be laid off. Students currently enrolled in the Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies and African American Studies programs will be able to finish their degrees.
UI to conduct board-mandated review of courses for DEI content
The UI will start a required review of general education courses for “substantial diversity, equity, and inclusion or critical race theory content.” The review is mandated by the Board of Regents every two years, and was finalized in a new policy in June.
State lawmakers banned university-funded DEI offices or programming in 2023. The UI came under fire from state lawmakers in 2025 after an undercover video published by Fox News showed a UI employee suggesting the school was skirting state requirements.
The investigation was closed after the regents voted to discipline an “unnamed” UI employee.
What to know about University of Iowa Homecoming 2026
The UI’s homecoming football game is set for Saturday, Oct. 31, against the Wisconsin Badgers. The kickoff time has yet to be released.
The homecoming parade will start at 5:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, in downtown Iowa City.
Liam Halawith covers Johnson County local government, the University of Iowa, and crime for the Press-Citizen. Reach him by email at lhalawith@registermedia.com. Follow him on X at @liam_halawith.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: What to know as classes get underway at the University of Iowa
Reporting by Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Liam Halawith, Iowa City Press-Citizen | USA TODAY Network
