(Des Moines, Iowqa)  – A new committee established by Iowa House Republicans will a conduct “comprehensive review” of Iowa’s higher education system, curriculum and administrative costs, the new chairman says, but the panel is sparking some concerns among students and faculty members. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports Representative Taylor Collins, a Republican from Mediapolis, will lead the new committee announced this week by House Speaker Pat Grassley. Leaders from organizations at state universities said their institutions already have a tremendous impact, and shared concerns that certain changes could hurt students, the universities themselves and the workforce.

Collins said he is grateful to be able to lead the committee in its “holistic review” of Iowa’s higher education system, looking at how colleges and universities handle state dollars and what they’re doing for Iowa’s workforce needs.

Rep. Taylor Collins (left) will chair a new committee on higher education in the Iowa House of Representatives. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

“I think that a review, a comprehensive review, of our higher education system is long overdue,” Collins said. “And it’s important that … these institutions that spend billions of dollars each year, not only Iowa taxpayer dollars but also tuition revenue that is given to them by Iowa students and taxpayers, that they are operating as efficiently as possible, and that they are preparing Iowa’s workforce.”

The committee will also work to ensure that Iowa’s universities are “mission-focused” and that they aren’t using tax dollars without oversight, Collins said.

Iowa’s state universities are overseen by the Board of Regents, with nine members appointed by the governor.