The Iowa Community Colleges Faculty Qualifications Guide is a vital resource for ensuring quality instruction across the state’s community colleges. Published annually by the Iowa Department of Education, the guide provides clear standards for faculty qualifications and supports the continuous improvement of academic and technical education.

The Faculty Standards Council will hold its annual meeting Friday, Jan. 10. At this meeting suggested edits to the Faculty Qualifications Guide and credentialing chart will be discussed. Chief Academic Officers will then discuss the approved proposals at a subsequent meeting.

Proposed edits can be submitted via the online form below. The deadline for proposals is Jan. 1, 2025.

Faculty Qualification Credential Chart Suggestions.

For more information, contact education program consultant for program quality and faculty support Derreck Calkins at derrick.calkins@iowa.gov.

Department staff participated and presented at the Community Colleges for Iowa Convention and Tradeshow on Dec. 3-5 in Des Moines.

Administrative consultant for career and technical education Heather Meissen presented Innovative Ways to Provide High School Students with Access to Postsecondary CTE Programming.

Indian Hills Community College President Matt Thompson, Iowa Western Community College President Dan Kinney, and Iowa Valley Community College Dean Ashtyn Beek  joined Meissen in presenting.

Education consultant for senior year plus Lisa Washington also presented Giving Credit to the Certificate: Understanding the value, responsibilities, and opportunities to showcase certificates awarded through dual credit opportunities and beyond.

She was assisted in presenting by Southwest Community College secondary programs director Rachel Ramaeker, and Southeastern Community College Guided Pathways Coordinator Michelle Brown.

For more information regarding either of these sessions, contact Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov or Lisa Washington at lisa.washington@iowa.gov.

Pathway Pillars in Practice is a series of webinars that create communities of practice around specific topics related to the four pillars of Guided Pathways. Each session is held over the lunch hour so anyone can participate and engage in discussion on a topic that features at least one of the 15 community colleges.

The next Pathway Pillars in Practice webinar, covering corequisite remediation, will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6.

More information and the webinar and registration details are available here.

Recordings are available here or previous webinars.

For more information, contact Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness Education Program Consultant Kelly Friesleben at kelly.friesleben@iowa.gov.

Starting in early 2025, the Bureau of Iowa College Aid is accepting new applications for Local College and Career Access Networks (LCAN).

Through grant support from the Bureau of Iowa College Aid, LCANs aim to increase college attainment by funding an LCAN Coordinator, travel, training and other costs associated with creating the network and carrying out LCAN initiatives.

Each LCAN assesses the assets and needs of its community and works to fill the gaps in partnership with local colleges, school districts, area education agencies, business groups, elected officials, employers and community, and religious organizations. LCANs identify multiple community goals that focus on increasing college attainment.

In order to be eligible to apply, communities must identify an organization with 501(c) status to serve as fiscal agent on the reimbursement-based grant. Strong 501(c) organizations to serve as fiscal agents are:

• Embedded in the community with the ability to convene cross-sector leaders
• Fiscally sound with robust financial operations; and
• Strong in their capacity for grants administration

Applications will be accepted through Iowagrants.gov from Jan. 28 through Feb. 28, 2025, for grants beginning July 1, 2025.

As 2024 comes to a close, the staff from the Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness wish you a safe and festive holiday season.

We thank you for another wonderful year of collaboration and innovation in higher education and look forward to our continued partnership in 2025.