April Community College Leader Bulletin

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Community College Leader Bulletin

Volume 7, Issue 8                                                                       April 2018                                                 www.educateiowa.gov



Inside this issue





 

Jeremy Varner
Administrator, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation
515-281-8260
jeremy.varner@iowa.gov


Barbara Burrows
Chief, Bureau of Community Colleges
515-281-0319
barbara.burrows@iowa.gov


Pradeep Kotamraju
Chief, Bureau of Career and Technical  Education
515-281-4716
pradeep.kotamraju@iowa.gov


Heather Doe
Communications Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges
515-281-7967
heather.doe2@iowa.gov 


Students completing career-technical programs have high employment rates, earnings

Ed Outcomes

Students who earn career and technical awards from Iowa community colleges have higher rates of employment and higher earnings after program completion than community college students who complete other programs and directly enter the workforce, according to an analysis of education, employment, and wage patterns of Iowa community college graduates.

The report, developed in partnership with Iowa Workforce Development, follows five groups of community college graduates from academic years 2012-2016 and tracks them into further postsecondary education and the workforce.

Click to read more

Department releases AY16-17 Joint Enrollment Report

joint enrollment

The Iowa Department of Education (Department) recently released its annual report on joint enrollment for the academic year (AY) 16-17. Jointly enrolled students are high school students enrolled in community college credit coursework. This report provides trend data on factors such as headcount enrollment, credit hours taken, student demographics, and enrollment by program type and offering arrangement.

Some highlights of this AY16-17 report include:

  • An increase in enrollment from 47,907 students last year to 49,868 this year, a 4.1 percent increase.
  • High school students participating in joint enrollment programs accounted for 37.6 percent of total community college enrollment.
  • The most common subject areas in which students jointly enrolled include social science and history, English, mathematics, health care, and business and marketing.

Contact Eric St Clair, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, at eric.stclair@iowa.gov or 515-326-0274 with comments or questions.


Governor Reynolds signs Future Ready Iowa bill

Governor

Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 2458, the Future Ready Iowa Act, into law at the close of the Future Ready Iowa Summit in Des Moines on April 3. The law aims to strengthen workforce development and expand work-based learning opportunities for students.

The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support from lawmakers, calls for the establishment of programs to support students and help them to succeed in college and careers, which is in line with the Future Ready Iowa goal for 70 percent of Iowans to have education or training beyond high school by 2025.

In particular, the legislation calls for the establishment of a registered apprenticeship development program, a volunteer mentoring program, a summer youth intern program, summer postsecondary courses for high school students that align with high-demand career pathways, an employer innovation fund, and a skilled workforce scholarship and grant program.


FY 2018 budget reductions: Community college SGA monthly disbursements

budget  cuts

On March 28, 2018, Senate File 2117 was signed into law, reducing community college fiscal year (FY) 2018 state general aid (SGA) by $500,000.

The Iowa Department of Education distributes the annual SGA appropriations to Iowa’s community colleges in 12 monthly payments, sent on the 15th of each month. Therefore, the reductions related to this year’s budget reduction will affect the remaining three monthly disbursements to the 15 community colleges based on the SGA distribution formula. The first of three revised disbursements will be sent on April 16, 2018.

Contact Eric St Clair, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, at eric.stclair@iowa.gov or 515-326-0274 with any questions about the calculation of these monthly disbursements. 


Transition from CurricUNET V2 to META scheduled this month

Data management

This month, the Iowa community college program and common course numbering management system will be transitioning from CurricUNET V2 (established in the 2011-2012 academic year) to the newest version of CurricUNET, called META.  CurricUNET is a web-based platform that provides the archival of all state-approved academic programs and a database for all courses offered at Iowa's 15 community colleges. In addition, the system allows colleges to build new college-level courses, launch new career and technical education (CTE) programs, and modify existing programs and courses.

With the upgrade to META, colleges can expect to see a more user-friendly system that streamlines approvals, decreases turnaround time, and increases the ability to produce individualized reports. Colleges have been testing the new system in a "sandbox" environment since the spring of 2017, in preparation for all of the course and program information to be migrated over to the new platform, which is taking place now, and will be live early next week. 

Consultants from the Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (Division) have worked diligently with the software vendor and the statewide user's group to prepare for the META conversion since it was first envisioned in the summer of 2015. There are a few customization requests that will need to be completed after META goes live. The vendor will work closely with our lead consultant and the colleges to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Contact Chris Russell, Education Program Consultant for Program Quality, Bureau of Community Colleges, at chris.russell@iowa.gov or 515-725-2247 for more information.


2018 Iowa Adult Education and Literacy Conference

adult ed

Registration is now open for the 2018 Iowa Adult Education and Literacy Conference, which will be held July 16-18, at the FFA Enrichment Center on the DMACC campus in Ankeny. This year's theme, "Educate and Elevate Iowa" is an important reminder that adult education plays a critical role in preparing adults to succeed in a global culture and economy by delivering a world-class education.

Juan Manuel Garcia, who oversees the strategic partnerships for the Center for Equity in Learning at ACT, will be the keynote speaker. The conference planning committee is currently seeking conference sponsors and accepting proposals for break-out sessions.

More information about the conference is available on the Department’s website. Please contact Education Program Consultants within the Bureau of Community Colleges: Jayne Smith, conference chair, at jayne.smith@iowa.gov or 515-725-0046, or Marcela Hermosillo-Tarin, conference co-chair, at marcela.hermosillo@iowa.gov or 515-281-4723, with comments or questions.


Career pathways development highlights high-paying, in-demand careers in advanced manufacturing

gears

The Iowa Department of Education, in support of the Future Ready Iowa Initiative, has partnered with Elevate Advanced Manufacturing and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) to develop promotional materials to highlight a wide range of high-paying and in-demand careers offered in the advanced manufacturing industry in Iowa. Similar projects were completed last year for the information technology and energy/utilities industries.

To assist in this process, manufacturers and employers from the advanced manufacturing industry are invited to participate in focus groups across the state this month to review and discuss proposed statewide career awareness materials. These materials include descriptions of various positions and detailed career pathways showing how to enter and advance through a wide range of careers in Iowa. Seats are limited for these employer-only sessions, so register as soon as possible to ensure a space. The final project will be released at the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) conference, Taking Care of Business, that is taking place June 5-7, 2018, in Coralville.

For more information, contact Joe Collins, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges, at joe.collins@iowa.gov or 515-725-0646.