The most recent version of The Iowa Community Colleges Faculty Qualifications Guide was published in June and can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.

Updates to this year’s guide include:

• The number of graduate semester hours required for arts and science faculty changed from 18 to 12.
• New prefixes and qualifying fields for human services, disability services and public health were added.
• Additional majors that can be considered for qualifying faculty for biology and chemistry prefixes were included.

Additionally, updates were made to the Faculty Qualifications Review Documentation form at the back of the guide to make it more user-friendly for community college personnel.

To ensure quality of instruction at Iowa’s community colleges, the Higher Learning Commission, Iowa Code 260C.48 and Iowa Administrative Code 281 Chapter 21.62 define minimum requirements for faculty qualifications for arts and science and career and technical education instructors. The Iowa Department of Education has provided clarity and guidance for these minimum requirements by publishing guidelines for faculty qualifications. The Faculty Standards Council, which includes community college chief academic officers and deans, representatives from the Accreditation Advisory Committee, representatives from the Faculty Advisory Committee and other community college personnel, meets at the beginning of each calendar year to review and update this guide. Community college faculty and staff have the opportunity to suggest updates to the Faculty Qualifications Guide, and the Council takes these suggestions into consideration as well. Updates to the guide are then approved by the community college chief academic officers.

The next Faculty Standards Council meeting will take place in January 2025.

For more information about faculty qualifications, contact Amy Gieseke at amy.gieseke@iowa.gov or 515-858-2234.

As a means to continue to inform and support the statewide implementation of guided pathways, the Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness formed a new Guided Pathways Steering Committee composed of members from multiple community colleges representing both academic and student affairs administration and staff:

Current steering committee members include: 

• Carl Lindberg - Des Moines Area Community College
• Megan Snook Lautner - Des Moines Area Community College
• Erin Latona - Iowa Lakes Community College
• Kari Hampe - Iowa Lakes Community College
• Matt Schmit - Iowa Valley Community College District
• Judy Stoffel - Kirkwood Community College
• John Hartog - Northwest Iowa Community College
• Laurel Klinkenberg - North Iowa Area Community College
• Michelle Brown - Southeastern Community College

The Guided Pathways Steering Committee's purpose is to inform and create the strategic vision and priorities for state-level guided pathways work. These strategic priorities will be used to plan an annual guided pathways convening, pathway pillars webinars and other technical assistance provided to colleges throughout the year.

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 been a part of a statewide initiative to learn and share ideas with each other.

For more inforamtion on guided pathways, contact Kelly Friesleben at kelly.friesleben@iowa.gov or 515-868-2847.

Career and technical education stepped into the spotlight this month during the 2024 Iowa ACTE Conference. Held at the Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona on June 18, CTE educators, administrators and students from secondary and postsecondary programs attended the full-day event to hear more about the latest in CTE in Iowa. 

Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow provided the official welcome at the event and spoke about the accomplishments of CTE programs over the past year. 

Department team members also took part in the day's activities. Section Chief Dennis Harden provided remarks on the National Career Clusters Initiative during the conference luncheon. Consultant Cale Hutchings also led two breakout sessions on best practices for CTE program study and review and how to coordinate CTE requirements for a high-quality program. 

This year’s conference was themed “IACTE on Fire: Fostering Innovation, Resilience and Excellence” and featured keynote speaker Craig Leager, executive dean of instruction at Indian Hills Community College. Quentin Suffren from ExcelinEd also led a general session activity on credentials to careers during the conference.

Alan Spencer joined the bureau on June 14 as the education program consultant for agriculture education. He previously served as the Department's Iowa FFA Executive Director from 2003-2011 and has been a teacher for Red Oak, Manson-Northwest Webster and West Marshall. school districts. During the past year, he was the agriculture teacher and FFA advisor at East Mills High School in Malvern. 

He can be reached at alan.spencer@iowa.gov. 

Robin Lilienthal joins the team as an administrative consultant for continuing education on Aug. 5. She previously served as the Provost of Marshalltown Community College for the Iowa Valley Community College District. Lilienthal has done extensive work in higher education and student affairs, with past experiences at Des Moines Area Community College, St. Ambrose University and Iowa State University.

Welcome Alan and Robin! 

Apply today! The Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness is seeking qualified candidates who are passionate about career and technical education and higher education to join our team. 

Currently, applications are being accepted for the following two positions:

• Education Program Consultant - This position leads statewide community college faculty support efforts as well as faculty-related technical assistance and compliance. The consultant will also assist with the state accreditation process for community colleges. Applications will be accepted through July 8. 
• Secretary 2 - This integral position will support bureau leadership and a team of consultants. The position will also work in the Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) education program and initiatives within the state's community colleges and educator preparation programs. Applications will be accepted through July 15. 

To view the full job descriptions and to submit an application, visit the Department of Administrative Services website. For specific questions regarding the open positions, contact Amy Gieseke at amy.gieseke@iowa.gov or 515-858-2234.