In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action in June 2023, ending race-based admission, the future of diversity scholarships in institutions nationwide is unsure, including at the University of Iowa.

The UI’s merit-based Advantage Iowa Award is just one example. The diversity scholarship was previously reserved for incoming first-year students from historically underrepresented populations, including those with African American, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander, and multiracial backgrounds. Students could be awarded up to $8,000 per year for up to four years.

Students are automatically considered for the award upon admission to the university, with the chance to receive more aid by applying to the Advantage Iowa Grant after the initial award. The scholarship also provides academic support for students when they arrive on campus, including one-on-one coaching and a first-year experience course taught by academic coaches.

Recipients of the award are required to meet with an academic coach once a semester during their first year, maintain a 2.0 GPA, and be enrolled in over 12 credit hours each semester to continually receive the amount awarded during their four years at the UI.

Now, the award is facing substantial changes. Jeneane Beck, UI assistant vice president for external relations, wrote in an email to The Daily Iowan that these changes come after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action.

“The University of Iowa is changing the selection criteria for the Advantage Iowa Award to a need-based award for students of all backgrounds,” Beck wrote.

While the changes will not impact the scholarships already awarded to students at the UI, current students with the award still see the changes as negative.

Award relieved stress for family

Managing Editor of Enterprise and Design Marandah Mangra-Dutcher

I was born and raised in a predominately white suburb of Iowa’s capital, Des Moines. As the youngest of three in a multiracial family, I have always been known to break the mold.

Both of my siblings opted to attend community college after high school graduation to pursue their two-year degrees, but I elected to apply anywhere that offered a free application and was a traditional four-year institution.

I completed nine college applications and was accepted to all of them, but knew I could only consider two or three of the options because, in the end, money was the deciding factor.

The UI awarded me the best financial package of the nine institutions with the inclusion of the Advantage Iowa Award. After telling my mom about my options, you could see the relief on her face when I reached Iowa and explained the amount I received. None of the other offers, including the University of Missouri offering me in-state tuition, compared to the amount I would save by attending the UI.

According to the fall 2022 Iowa Board of Regents Enrollment Report, 20 percent of the UI’s 2022 first-year students identify as a racial/ethnic minority, including African American, Asian, Latinx, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and being of multiple ethnicities. Additionally, 20.5 percent identify as first-generation students.

For some of the other Advantage Iowa awardees, like UI third-year Grayson Lottes, the Advantage Iowa Scholarship was also the deciding factor for attending the university.

“For me, I don’t think I’d be going here if I was not offered the scholarship,” Lottes said.

Iowa was one of Lottes’ top choices, but the award made attendance even more feasible, he said.

“My mom went here and she said she loved it,” Lottes said. “It was the cheapest for me, so all the stars kind of aligned for me to come here.”

However, without the assurance of the Advantage Iowa Scholarship in the capacity Lottes knows, he doesn’t know if his younger brother, an aspiring Hawkeye, will be able to attend the UI if he isn’t awarded it.

“I have two little brothers. One of them really, really wants to come here,” he said. “He’s a great student and all, but I’m hoping he’ll still get enough money to come here without it being too taxing student loans-wise without the Advantage Iowa scholarship.”

Award gives financial relief to out-of-state students

Senior Reporter Kate Perez

For me, a Cuban student from the Chicago suburbs, moving out of state affordably seemed impossible when I was applying to colleges.

As a result, I ended up applying to schools that only had need-based scholarships, knowing that receiving an award would be the only way I could afford to attend college. I did not realize while applying to the UI that I had a chance at the Advantage Iowa Award for being from a historically underrepresented background, let alone the Advantage Iowa Grant.

Additionally, as an out-of-state student, I knew going in that there was a chance I would receive less scholarship money. The Advantage Iowa Award seemed to celebrate out-of-state and in-state students equally, making it different from other scholarships at competing universities.

Receiving the award made attending college financially feasible. Relief swept over me when I saw the email that I had been awarded aid, because I knew that I would be able to attend a school that sparked my interests while also living without financial insecurity. It was a lifesaver.

For other out-of-state Advantage Iowa Scholars, including third-year Puerto Rican scholar Andrell Rodriguez, the scholarship also made education at the UI accessible.

“It’s pretty much like the biggest reason that I’m here,” Rodriguez said. “Because of all the aid that I’ve gotten, it’s just made it so much easier to be able to actually come here and stay here. So that scholarship, the Advantage Iowa Award, was part of it.”

Rodriguez said he found the changes to be “disappointing” and “limiting” for students of diverse backgrounds.

“ … I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to think about it a little bit more if I was in the shoes of an incoming freshman in the next couple years,” he said. “Because not having that, it’ll discourage people, or at least make them reconsider where they might end up.”

Removal of diversity scholarship information from UI websites troubles students

In the last year, all information regarding the Advantage Iowa Award was wiped from UI websites, including the admissions scholarship site, the Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence website, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion website.

While current Advantage Iowa Scholars can still access information about the program via an ICON class, public information regarding the scholarship has been removed completely.

According to an email to the DI from university officials, the criteria for the award was removed from UI websites because students no longer need to apply for the scholarship. Since the scholarship will be awarded based on need following the completion of their FAFSA application, it will be a part of the UI’s need-based aid package.

Jackie Fuentes, a UI third-year Hispanic Advantage Iowa Scholar, said she first found out about the changes through a post from the UI Cross Cultural Student Coalition Instagram account.

“They’re not taking away my scholarship, but I was really surprised that they still didn’t email me, inform me, my advisor, nobody really brought this up,” Fuentes said. Additionally, the UI admissions website currently has two incoming first-year scholarships listed, the Iowa Scholars Award and the Provost Scholarship, outside of collegiate and departmental scholarships. The Advantage Iowa Award is no longer listed on the website.

While Fuentes said she is happy for the students from need-based backgrounds who will now be eligible for the award, she wishes there was still a specific scholarship opportunity for students of diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.

“It’s hard because obviously, I want people who need money to have money and be able to have the same privilege that I have of going to school, but I think it is kind of hard to compare when people of color have really experienced more in the U.S system that has always penalized them,”
Fuentes said.

UI sees other potential DEI changes

The change to diversity scholarships is not unusual following the end of affirmative action, with schools like the University of Missouri opting to end race-based scholarships.

Historically, the UI has supported scholarships aimed toward students with need-based backgrounds.

During the 2021-22 year, the UI gave $52.2 million in need-based

 scholarships and grants, according to an Iowa Board of Regents 2023 Student Financial Aid Report.

Additionally, during the 2021-22 year, 47.7 percent of resident students demonstrated financial need, with the UI meeting 69 percent of that need. In regards to non-resident students, 43.3 percent demonstrated financial need, with the UI meeting 77 percent of that need.

The scholarship changes come as the UI faces other potential diversity, equity, and inclusion changes. The Iowa Board of Regents recently passed a series of changes that would cut certain offices, initiatives, and positions related to DEI.

A report from a recent study group found that some DEI resources at regent institutions exist only for some student groups. According to the report, “Staff in decentralized units and multicultural centers offer some important services that support student success, although better efforts could be made to assure that students understand that all are welcome.”

Overall, Rodriguez said he hopes diversity continues to be supported at the UI with scholarships for incoming students, despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of DEI on campuses.

“I was pretty much in the same boat without that money [as incoming students],” Rodriguez said. “I don’t even know if I would be able to come here. And I’m more than willing to bet that there are kids that are in the same position as I was as an incoming freshman, so it just sucks.”