Since 2018, Iowa’s adult education and literacy (AEL) programs have been exploring online learning for adult students and building courses in the Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas. In response to the needs of AEL students during the COVID-19 pandemic, the community colleges formed a statewide work group to guide and propel AEL’s online learning expansion. The working group named the initiative, Iowa Distance Adult Education and Literacy (IDEAL). The vision of IDEAL is to deliver online courses that are research-based, adaptable, and provide AEL students with the  knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to acquire a high school credential, receive postsecondary education and training and achieve living-wage employment. 

To support the vision and work of IDEAL, Iowa’s 15 community colleges came together as a consortium and submitted an application for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund Component 2, Round 2. The committee identified a lack of complete, standardized online AEL curricula, inadequate digital literacy programming to support underprepared online learners, limited means to foster virtual student relationships and track student progress, and insufficient professional development for AEL faculty. To address these gaps, the committee proposed the following four major activities (1) expand online master course shell curriculum, (2) implement a digital literacy assessment and training program to prepare students for the online learning environment, (3) align all Iowa community college AEL programs under a single student success and retention platform to facilitate connections between programs and online learners, and (4) create a professional development program to ensure AEL staff are prepared to serve online learners.  Over the 13-month grant period the project will serve over 10,000 students state wide and will support the IDEAL initiative to provide accessible online courses for AEL learners. 

The second round of GEER component 2 funds also supported other projects focused on promoting best practices and strategies for effective online and remote instruction in postsecondary education and the development, curation and support for the adoption of Open Education Resources (OER).  These grant-funded projects include the creation of a virtual learning training center, creation of a Best Practices in Online Teaching course, implementation of Quality Matters and a Diversity, Equity and Student Success Fellows’ Program, an Iowa Cross-Institutional OER (I-COER) program among private 4-year institutions and community colleges, and an OER expansion and capacity building initiative for the three regent universities.

The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Literacy Council are pleased to announce  that registration is now open for the Iowa Adult Education and Literacy Summer Virtual Conference! The conference will be held virtually on July 20-22.  The three-day conference will kick off with pre-conference sessions on July 20, followed by two days of breakout sessions and two keynote presentations from field experts, Sarah Ennis and Reecie Stagnolia. The conference will include time to virtually network with colleagues from across the state and many opportunities to learn innovative practices in adult education. 

In June, additional details and the conference agenda will be located on the Iowa Department of Education website and http://yourfuturestartshereiowa.org/.  To register, please complete the registration form. Registrations will be accepted through July 21. 

If you are interested in presenting at the conference, please complete the Call for Proposal Form. Proposals will be accepted through June 7.  

We are currently accepting nominations for the Archie Willard Adult Education and Literacy Educator Award. This award will be presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding service in adult education and literacy.  To nominate an instructor please complete the Nomination Form.  Nominations will be accepted through June 7. 

For additional information please contact Helene Fein at ilcexecutivedirector@iowa.gov or Elizabeth Johnson at elizabeth.johnson2@iowa.gov.

In partnership with the Iowa Department of Corrections and Iowa Workforce Development, the Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation recently released a report about the outcomes of students who were released in 2018 from Iowa's state correctional facilities. This initial report outlines post-release employment and wages earned by individuals released from Iowa's state correctional facilities who did and did not take a college course as well as the respective recidivism rates of these groups.  Findings support tangible benefits to these individuals who saw post-release success in employment and decreased recidivism rates.

The data focuses on individuals who were released from incarceration in 2018 and had enrolled in credit and/or noncredit community college programs from 2012-2018. Credit and noncredit programs offered to these individuals included adult education, agriculture, business, transportation and logistics, health science and manufacturing.  The full report can be found here.

For more information, contact Paula Nissen, Lead Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges (Paula.Nissen2@iowa.gov or 515-418-8273).

This summer, Iowa’s community colleges will continue to learn about high-impact strategies for strengthening their approach to Guided Pathways through statewide webinars.  Topics and speakers are yet to be determined and will be shared at a later date.  Please mark your calendars for the following dates to continue to engage in these valuable discussions:

• Wednesday, June 9, 2021, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Thursday, July 15, 2021, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Thursday, July 29, 2021, 12 p.m.-2 p.m.

Since 2018, Iowa's community colleges have been learning about the national Guided Pathways movement and implementing strategies to put them into place locally. Each college has a unique work plan and strategy and has also been part of a statewide initiative to learn and share ideas with each other through a grant received by the Iowa Department of Education in 2019 from Ascendium Education Group. Due to the COVID pandemic, several of the grant’s planned face-to-face convenings in each of spring, summer and fall terms have been replaced by virtual gatherings to learn about topics related to the successful implementation of key tenets of pathway initiatives. This series of technical assistance webinars are held for about two hours and function as a way for the colleges to learn from each other as well as from national experts. These are the last official webinars sponsored by the grant, and the colleges and IDOE will determine future training and webinars post-grant. 

Contact Amy Gieseke, Chief, Bureau of Community Colleges (amy.gieseke@iowa.gov or 515-858-2234) , or Kelly Friesleben, Education Program Consultant, Bureau of Community Colleges (kelly.friesleben@iowa.gov or 515-868-2847) with comments or questions.

As business and industry evolve at an ever-increasing pace, the next wave of change in the form of digitalization and automation, known as “Industry 4.0,” will require new processes for businesses and new skills for employees. Iowa’s Community Colleges and the Iowa State University’s Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) announced a new consortium to support the manufacturing sector in adapting to these changes. The training and awareness initiative includes partners from across the state.

“Iowa has the right mix of relationships and resources to help our manufacturers remain competitive through a global technology revolution that is transforming factory floors and jobs,” said Gov. Reynolds. “This important partnership addresses a critical need identified in the state’s Manufacturing 4.0 strategic plan by uniting key education and industry stakeholders in a comprehensive effort to prepare workers with the skills they need in an increasingly digital economy." 

The consortium includes key state associations and agencies who have agreed to partner for the best interest of manufacturing businesses. This unique collaboration will implement an education awareness strategy statewide and that will lead to development of curriculum to meet training needs of all sizes of manufacturing businesses throughout Iowa. In addition to customized training for the existing workforce, the group will develop and enhance certificate, diploma, and degree programs to ensure employers have access to advanced skills training and career pathways now and in the future.  

Additional consortium partners include:

• Association of Business and Industry
• Iowa Department of Education
• Iowa Economic Development Authority
• Iowa Workforce Development
• Professional Developers of Iowa
• Institute for Decision-Making, University of Northern Iowa