A March survey of students, staff, and faculty at Iowa’s three public universities found that overall attitudes toward the state of free speech on campus improved from a December 2021 survey. 

The bi-annual survey results from regent recommendations following concerns over the state of free speech on public university campuses in Iowa in 2021. 

The survey was created to gauge the effectiveness of promoting free speech on campuses following a 2021 law that required regent universities and community colleges to develop free speech curricula to educate students about their free speech rights on campus. 

The 2024 survey had a lower response rate than the fall 2021 survey for both students and employees.

An overwhelming majority of students feel comfortable expressing their opinions related to class material with 87 percent saying they felt comfortable in the 2024 survey, an increase from the 77.5 percent who felt the same in 2022. 

Over 80 percent of student respondents, also felt they could express their opinions outside of class, compared to 73.6 in 2021. A majority of students, or 79.1 percent, also feel that universities don’t restrict free speech even when it makes others uncomfortable, an increase from 66.2 percent in 2021. 

Of the 10,551 staff and faculty respondents, a 36.6 percent response rate, 76.9 percent felt that universities provide an environment for free and open expression of ideas, compared to just 68.7 percent in 2021.