The University of Iowa will discontinue the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant program after the 2018 summer session due to state budget cuts. The university began offering the undergraduate summer school grants in 2014 to help students finish their degrees in four years.

“Summer Hawk was launched to help students who were not on track to graduate on a timely basis because they had changed majors, needed to retake a course, or because they needed to spread out difficult courses to better manage their study time,” says Lon Moeller, associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of University College. “Unfortunately, after four years, we’re finding that there are many factors that impact time to graduation that are not specifically addressed by Summer Hawk, and with diminishing resources from the state, we have to channel our efforts to where we can have the greatest positive impact on improving graduation rates.”

In summer 2017, the Summer Hawk program provided $6,201,921 in grants to 2,161 students. This spring, the Iowa Legislature cut state appropriations to the university by $15 million.

The Class of 2017 is the first class to complete four years with the Summer Hawk Tuition Grant program. The four-year graduation rate of the Class of 2017 (54 percent) matched the four-year graduation rate of the previous two graduating classes (53 and 54 percent, respectively).

“With decreases in state appropriations, it is important that the University of Iowa direct its resources to the most impactful student success initiatives,” says Jacob Simpson, president of the UI Student Government and a fourth-year undergraduate majoring in economics. “We look forward to working with Associate Provost Moeller and other campus partners to invest the Summer Hawk resources into efforts that improve the retention and graduation rates for students, particularly first-generation, underrepresented minority, and low-income students.”

“The University of Iowa is committed to finding new ways to meet the needs of our students,” says Moeller. “We need to focus on sustainable ways to help students graduate on time and receive the highest value education we can provide.”

The Summer Hawk Tuition Grant is a UI undergraduate grant program that offsets the tuition for a limited number of summer course credit hours at the university. It was first offered to first-time, first-year undergraduate students who were admitted to the university during the summer and fall of 2013. Last year, due to reduced state funding, the UI adjusted the program to limit the number of course credit hours for which a student could receive the grant.