A University of Iowa official told state lawmakers on Thursday that freshman retention rates are the highest in the university’s history, student financial aid opportunities are being expanded, and an array of enhancements are being developed to make a college degree accessible and attainable to more Iowans.

The Graduate College recently launched University of Iowa Grad Success Services. The office, located in Gilmore Hall, provides students with the tools they need to start planning a career, finance their goals, succeed academically, and find an effective work-life balance.

UI students and instructors can look forward to a significant upgrade to Iowa Courses Online (ICON) this spring. The latest version of the course-management system will include a more modern interface, along with new conveniences and features.

The University of Iowa awarded an estimated 1,500 degrees at the close of the 2013 fall session.

In 1919, all undergraduates at the University of Iowa were required to take a drawing class. Were it not for that requirement, it’s possible that some of Europe’s greatest artistic treasures would have been destroyed by the Nazis during World War II.

The University of Iowa is launching a new way to promote and recognize outstanding student achievement on campus.

UI Women in Science and Engineering hosted about 90 girls in third through sixth grade for a day of information about science careers and hands-on science activities, including making lava lamps and volcanoes.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Research Symposium will highlight 11 College of Education student poster projects, and Philip Kutzko, a professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Department of Mathematics, will give the keynote address entitled “Becoming America: Dr. King’s Beloved Community,” Friday, Feb. 7.

Because few students understand how cell phones and other electronic devices are made and how they work, the University of Iowa Microfabrication Facility, part of the Optical Science and Technology Center, has established a course on the subject.

As the number of international students attending the University of Iowa continues to grow, officials are offering a new program to help students integrate to Iowa and the United States comfortably.

Eric Anfield, a UI senior cinematography student, worked with a local director to produce a television pilot they plan to pitch to HBO or Netflix Originals.

A $1.5 million gift from University of Iowa alumnus Norman E. Johnson and his wife, Barbara J. Johnson, of Naples, Fla. and Franklin, Tenn., will benefit two areas within UI Health Care—the Department of Otolaryngology in the Carver College of Medicine, and the new UI Children’s Hospital.