Board of Regents grants University of Iowa new BA
The University of Iowa’s College of Education will soon offer a new degree to students who are interested in the administration side of education.
Iowa Board of Regents President Michael Richards sits alongside President Pro Tem Patty Cownie during a meeting at the Iowa State Alumni Center in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday, June 6, 2019. The Regents voted in favor of a four percent tuition increase starting in the fall semester of 2019.
February 5, 2020
URBANDALE — The state Board of Regents granted a University of Iowa request for a new Bachelor of Arts in the College of Education at its Wednesday meeting.
UI Provost Montserrat Fuentes advocated for an Education Studies and Human Relations BA. She explained there was a need for this degree on campus because it would assist students in job training.
“This new undergraduate degree [will] serve students who are interested in a career related to education or education helping professions, but who do not wish to pursue classroom teaching,” she said. “The type of jobs that these students could pursue is in educational administration, social and human services, [and] human resources. So, there are a lot of opportunities.”
Fuentes told the board a large amount of students showed interest in the minor that corresponds with this new BA. She said the UI wanted to help students pursuing these jobs be more successful after they graduate.
“We could only have a minor, but with grade demand we have 400 students [in the minor],” Fuentes said. “This proposal is in response to the demand from the students as well as the opportunities set for them. This program will provide our students with [training for] professions that require a high level of communication.”
RELATED: Report: Iowa regent universities tout $11.8 billion impact on state economy
She said the degree is an interdisciplinary degree and the coursework will be offered by the four academic departments in the college of education.
Fuentes explained the funding for this degree will come from limited internal reallocations from the College of Education. When the enrollment of the degree increases, she said, more funding will be allocated depending on how much is needed.
The UI has consulted with the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University, Fuentes said, and there is unanimous support for the new degree.
“They both are supporting this program as well as the faculty from the [UI] College of Education and the campus as a whole,” she said. “We have consulted within the state and [found] no concerns. We are excited about this proposal for a new Bachelor of Arts to continue expanding our educational offerings.”
