AIB College of Business will continue to operate until June 2016, giving students approximately 15 months to graduate.
Jane Schorer Meisner, the AIB public-relations director, said a good number of students will be able to graduate from the school, but it will not accept a new freshman class.
“I think our students are looking at options, and AIB is encouraging them to slow down and take time to review all their options,” Meisner said.
AIB student Max Sallinen is finishing up a degree as a sophomore.
“I am looking to go to a different school after the merger takes place,” he said.
Brent Gage, the University of Iowa associate vice president for Enrollment Management, said the office of admissions has received a few inquiries from students who are interested in transferring.
“It’s really an individual decision,” he said. “So I think at this point it’s too early to tell [how many AIB students will transfer to the UI].”
UI Assistant Provost Mark Warner, the director of Student Financial Aid, said the students who are enrolled in AIB would need to make an important decision about their next steps in continuing their education.
According to a report conducted by the Iowa College Student Aid Commission for the 2014-15 academic year, tuition and fees for Iowa residents were $15,600 for AIB students, $8,079 for UI students, $7,749 for University of Northern Iowa students, and $7,731 for Iowa State University students.
Because AIB is a private institution, out-of-state tuition is the same, but the UI tuition for nonresidents is $27,890. For students who transfer to the UI after AIB closes that means an increase of $12,290.
Room and board on campus for students who attend AIB is $4,935. For the UI, it is $9,614, followed by $8,046 for UNI and $7,830 for ISU.
Sallinen said that in his experiences, scholarships have been very significant.
“I know most of the people that I’ve spoken to, especially out of state, the athletics and academic scholarships are extremely generous here,” he said.
Both he and his roommate are on athletics scholarships.
Meisner said approximately 70 percent of students have AIB-funded financial aid, and 90 percent of students receive some sort of financial aid other than student loans.
Some AIB students are eligible for scholarships UI students may not be eligible for.
“The students who attend AIB may qualify for a state program called the Iowa Tuition Grant Program that UI students do not have,” Warner said.