Spring applications for the 2021-22 Career Academy Incentive Fund grant are now being accepted by the Iowa Department of Education. All submissions must be received by April 15.

The Career Academy Incentive Fund expands and increases equitable access to high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs through partnerships between school districts and community colleges. Institutions that demonstrate these partnerships are encouraged to apply for the grant. Priority consideration will be given to applicants who focus on programming delivered through regional centers. Application materials can be found here. 

For more information, contact Jen Rathje, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges (jennifer.rathje@iowa.gov or (515) 326-5389).

The Iowa Department of Education today released the latest edition of an annual report that documents the academic year trend data on joint enrollment. The Joint Enrollment Report includes data on headcount enrollment, credit hours taken, student demographics and enrollment by program type and offering arrangement. 

Highlights from the report are from the 2020-21 school year and include the following: 

• 47,262 students enrolled in joint enrollment courses—a 8.8 percent decrease over the previous academic year, largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Two community colleges experienced increased enrollments, and six colleges experienced an increase in the number of credits taken by high school students. 
• High school students participating in joint enrollment programs accounted for 40.4 percent of total community college enrollment. 
• Joint enrollment programs account for 25.4 percent of total credit hours. 
• Awards earned by jointly enrolled students increased 15.7 percent to 1,122 awards. Jointly enrolled students earned 241 associate degrees, 79 diplomas and 801 certificates simultaneously with their high school diplomas.
• The percent of participants in joint enrollment programs who reported a minority racial or ethnic background was 14.8 compared to 23.4 percent of total credit student enrollment. 
• The most common subject areas in which students jointly enrolled were English, social science and history, mathematics, healthcare and life and physical sciences.

Most jointly enrolled students enroll through Senior Year Plus concurrent enrollment programs. Other students enroll independently as tuition-paying students or enroll in courses delivered through contractual agreements that do not meet the definition of concurrent enrollment. For more information about Senior Year Plus programs, please refer to the Department’s website. 

For more information, contact Jen Rathje, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges (jennifer.rathje@iowa.gov or (515) 326-5389).

The Iowa Department of Education (Department) recently released its 2021 annual report on developmental education for Iowa community colleges. The report includes enrollment data from academic year (AY)19-20, but also tracks cohorts of students since 2013.

The report also includes trend data on factors such as headcount enrollment, credit hours taken, student demographics, and student outcomes in transfer, graduation, and course success. The number of credit hours in developmental education taken at the colleges has decreased from a total of 121,824 credits in AY11-12 to 42,471 credits in AY 19-20. This decrease is attributed to several strategies colleges have implemented within developmental education course scheduling and course delivery methods, but may also be due to the effects of the pandemic.

Some additional highlights from the 2021 annual report include:

• Developmental education courses accounted for 2.5 percent of total community college credit hours during AY19-20.
• The most popular developmental education course taken during AY19-20 in mathematics was elementary algebra. For writing courses, the most popular course was college prep writing II.
• Students who take one or more developmental education courses are more likely to be female, low-income, racial or ethnic minorities, self-identify as English as a Second Language (ESL) learners, be enrolled full time, and are younger, on average, than students who do not take developmental education courses.
• The success rate (graduation and/or transfer) for students from the 2016-17 cohort who took one or more developmental education courses was 24.2 percent, compared to 41.6 percent for students who did not take developmental education courses.

For more information, contact Kelly Friesleben, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges (kelly.friesleben@iowa.gov or (515) 868-2847).

In 2019, Azike Tampi arrived in Waterloo. He had just left his home country of Togo in West Africa and moved to a community that he did not know using a language that he did not understand. Tampi, though, was undeterred by the barriers. He was determined to find a way to learn new skills and ensure his success in Iowa.

Enter Hawkeye Community College. As a part of their adult education curriculum, Tampi enrolled in an English Language Learning (ELL) course, which not only helped this 25-year-old native French speaker acquire necessary English skills, but also connected him with opportunities to shape his future career pathway.

“I wanted to learn English,” Tampi said. “My teacher, Emily, asked me what career I was interested in. I like helping people, so I chose nursing and took the CNA (certified nursing assistant) class.”

Through Hawkeye’s integrated education and training (IET) program, students like Tampi can pursue other career training while also completing adult education classes. Individuals who are enrolled in courses like ELL or High School Completion can greatly benefit from these concurrent opportunities.

“For the longest time, students would finish their High School Completion or ELL programs, but it wasn’t enough,” said Laura Hidlebaugh, director of adult education and literacy programs at Hawkeye Community College. “We really needed to provide them short-term training options and credentials to make them more employable in the field.”

The Alliance to Foster Equity and Inclusion (Alliance), a collaboration between the Iowa Association of Community College Trustees, Iowa community colleges and the Iowa Department of Education, has announced its inaugural steering committee. This committee will assist the Alliance in the creation and maintenance of programming for Iowa's 15 community colleges. 

The steering committee includes:

• Gisella M. Aitken-Shadle (NICC) (DEI Representative)
• Vincent Boyd (IVCCD) (Executive Administrator/Cabinet)
• Bridgett Elliott Golman (NIACC) (Executive Administrator/Cabinet)
• Amy Foley (EICC) (College Faculty)
• Todd Holcomb (HCC) (President)
• Chelsea Lema (HCC) (Student)
• Terry Murrell (WITCC) (President)
• Val Newhouse (ILCC) (President)
• Sreeja Srilatha (KCC) (HR Staff)
• Revathi Truong (WITCC) (DEI Representative)
• Ambé White (IWCC)

The first meeting of the steering committee took place Monday, March 21. Department and IACCT staff will attend meetings as ex-officio members of the committee.

For more information, contact Amy Gieseke, Bureau Chief, (amy.gieseke@iowa.gov or (515) 858-2234). 

Iowa’s community colleges have been awarded $2 million in federal funding to support college and career transition counselor positions across the state. The funding comes as part of the omnibus spending bill that was approved by Congress and President Biden in early March, and will be administered by Indian Hills Community College. The award will support at least 15 college and career transition counselor positions.

For more information, contact Indian Hills Community College at (800) 726-2585.

Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education today announced $506,084 in annual awards that will prepare K-12 teachers in 136 school districts and nonpublic schools to teach computer science.

"Computer science is a basic skillset necessary for student success and an added advantage for recruitment in high-demand careers in the rapidly-changing, technology-driven workplace," said Gov. Reynolds. “These awards equip more educators with the tools and resources needed to prepare K-12 students in computer science, giving them hands-on experience and building their knowledgebase to help attain high-quality computer science jobs once they graduate.”

"Through computer science, students build critical thinking, problem-solving and reasoning skills that are transferable across academic disciplines and fields," said Ann Lebo, director of the Iowa Department of Education. "These are vital skills that students need to innovate and succeed in our interconnected, digital world. The awards announced today underscore the commitment we have to computer science education and will help more teachers build their skills in this high-demand field."

Mindi Nguyen serves as the equity coordinator for the Department of Education (Department) as well as the methods of administration coordinator. In these capacities, she works with the Department team to support policies and procedures that promote equity and also works with external stakeholders to ensure that all students, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex or disability have equal access to high-quality career and technical education programs. In her roles, she works with many Department team members and external partners to gather information and data, submits reports to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights and engages in efforts and activities that address student and program outcomes. 

Mindi can be reached at mindi.nguyen@iowa.gov or (515) 419-2876.

The Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation is pleased to announce Jen Rathje has rejoined the Community College team on March 25 as the education program consultant for Career Academies and Senior Year Plus.

Jen comes to us from Des Moines Area Community College where she was a coordinator in the Career Advantage program. She has a Master's degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education from Colorado State University. 

Within the division, Jen will will be responsible for leading our concurrent enrollment programs and initiatives and will oversee all aspects of Senor Year Plus and Career Academies, including the Career Academy Incentive Fund.