The Joint Enrollment Matriculation Report (JEMR) is now available on EdInsight, the Iowa Department of Education's portal for various reports and data.
The JEMR presents a detailed picture of high school graduates' postsecondary enrollments by school district within each college service area.
The report presents rich research, planning and marketing materials for Iowa community colleges, including enrollment figures that detail students' participation in joint enrollment programs.
The JEMR was previously distributed as individual college spreadsheets, with specific data redacted for privacy protection. However, publishing the report on EdInsight's protected platform allows the report to utilize that data to create a more accurate depiction of the joint enrollment data.
The report also now includes interactive options to detail the latest six cohorts of high school graduates, with an annual trendline interactive graph.
Institutional researchers in Iowa community colleges received detailed instructions on accessing JEMR.
For more information, contact Bureau of Community Colleges Administrative Consultant Vladimir Bassis at vladimir.bassis@iowa.gov.
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The Bureau of Community Colleges recently released its 2025 Senior Year Plus Audit Plan.
As part of this plan, community college leadership can now meet concurrent enrollment course audit requirements through one of two options.
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show active NACEP accreditation status
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through the review of their concurrent enrollment program during the college's regularly scheduled state accreditation visit. State accreditation visits occur once every five years; however, the Department has the responsibility to conduct concurrent enrollment audits as needed.
Regardless of the community college's choice of accrediting bodies, it will continue to prove that its Senior Year Plus programs meet exemplary rigor and quality standards.
Concurrent enrollment courses provided by institutions without NACEP or Department-accredited status will not be eligible for supplementary weighted funding (to school districts) per Iowa Code 256.17.
For more information, contact Bureau of Community Colleges Education Program Consultant Lisa Washington at lisa.washington@iowa.gov.
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WTED, Gap and PACE annual reports are due Sept. 30, 2025.
Each college's program contact was emailed their college's reporting spreadsheets in early August. Virtual open office hours are being offered on Sept. 15 to answer questions about report completion. Information on those sessions and other technical assistance opportunities is available below.
The Bureau of Community Colleges staff will begin hosting a series of technical assistance webinars this month and continue throughout the year.
The first of these sessions is scheduled for Sept. 15 to assist with PACE and Gap reporting.
Sessions are also scheduled for Sept. 18 and 25 to cover transfer major frameworks and concurrent enrollment.
Participants can visit the Community College Technical Assistance Webinars webpage to register or contact Education Program Consultant for Program Quality and Faculty Support Derreck Calkins at derreck.calkins@iowa.gov.
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In early August, more than 50 Career and College Transition Counselors (CCTCs) from across Iowa gathered at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa for a full day of in-person training.
The session was filled with learning, collaboration and shared expertise. Highlights included sessions on thoughtful career conversations, match and fit in college advisement, FAFSA support for underserved students, CTE connections, family engagement strategies and emerging considerations such as AI in advising.
The in-person event provided additional opportunities for CCTCs to learn from one another by sharing insights, challenges, and practices that strengthen college and career readiness efforts for students across Iowa.
Building on the success of last fall's inaugural work-based learning webinar series, the Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development are collaborating on a new series of work-based learning webinars for the current academic year.
The webinar series is designed to showcase some of the most proven programs and approaches to work-based learning in Iowa's most in-demand industries.
Both employers and educators are highly encouraged to register for the series, which is intended to help participants explore and ultimately partner on meaningful work-based learning programs.
Each webinar session is held from 3:30-4:30 p.m. The full schedule with planned session topics and registration links is listed below:
Recordings of the webinar sessions will be available on Iowa Workforce Development's website after each session concludes.
For more information on career-connected learning and work-based learning opportunities, visit the Department's webpage. Specific questions on the webinars can be directed to Administrative Consultant Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov.
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Kirkwood Community College is one of nine programs in the nation that the U.S. Department of Education recently recognized as a Career Z Challenge Winner.
The Career Z Challenge is a national three-phase prize competition designed to expand high school students' access to high-quality work-based learning (WBL) experiences.
The winners demonstrated exceptional innovation and capacity to deliver high-quality, student-centered WBL. They will receive a portion of the $1.5 million prize pool to enhance and scale their WBL strategies.
Throughout the 2024-25 school year, the Finalists selected for Phase 3 received comprehensive technical assistance, including personalized coaching, access to virtual collaboration tools, and participation in both in-person and online learning workshops. Their final submissions included robust documentation of sustained partnerships to support WBL ecosystems, student impact, and strategies for long-term viability.
Kirkwood was joined by the following eight other winners of the honor.
- Atlanta College and Career Academy (Ga.)
- YouthForce NOLA (La.)
- Grand Forks Public Schools (N.D.)
- Future Focused Education (N.M.)
- South Bronx Community Charter High School (N.Y.)
- Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (Ohio)
- Lorain County Joint Vocational School (Ohio)
- Roanoke City Public Schools (Va.)
The application period for the 2025-26 Career Academy Incentive Fund remains open through Nov. 14 for the fall grant cycle.
The Career Academy Incentive Fund supports increased access to career academy programs through regional centers and highlights partnerships between school districts, community colleges, business and industry and other partners. Successful proposals promote equitable access to high-quality career and technical education programs and include at least one school district and one community college. Priority consideration will be given to applicants who focus on programming delivered to at least four school districts. The Department will also consider tier 2 proposals that improve or expand existing career academies delivered through a regional center.
For more information, please contact contact Bureau of CTE and Postsecondary Readiness Administrative Consultant Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov.
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