During Northwest Iowa Community College's (NCC) recent interim accreditation visit, the Department team identified a promising practice within the career and technical education (CTE) program evaluation as an exemplary guided pathways student success model that may be beneficial for other community colleges to implement.
NCC maintains a culture focused on results which includes CTE program activities that focus on improving student outcomes and continuous program improvement aligned with the high impact practices of the college’s guided pathways initiative. Examples include:
- Assessing the required knowledge and skills graduates need to learn as part of the CTE program.
- Analyzing the relationship between the general education courses required in CTE programs in relation to essential knowledge required for program graduates.
- Strategically placing internships and other work-based learning opportunities within CTE programs.
- Engaging the advising and learning support staff in the program review process.
- Promoting curriculum alignment between secondary and postsecondary CTE programs by encouraging NCC program faculty members to participate on high school program review committees.
- Cross walking the new CTE program review self-study template to align the state CTE program evaluation standards with the college’s guided pathway model.
Further, NCC’s exceptional CTE outcomes are a result of the college’s strong commitment to CTE programming and workforce development which have resulted in high wage outcomes and a positive student return on investment. Graduates of CTE programs, even those who earn short-term awards, earn higher salaries than those from peer community colleges after accounting for cost-of-living variances.
For more information on this promising practice, contact Bureau of Community Colleges Administrative Consultant Robin Shaffer Lilienthal at robin.lilienthal@iowa.gov.
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To help commemorate April's Community College Month, the Iowa Department of Education highlighted the successes of Iowa community colleges on social media.
Those highlighted successes included the more than 120,000 Iowans enrolled at a community college, the record-setting number of jointly enrolled high school students and the success students have in completing a degree and securing employment.
The Department is proud to continue its collaboration with each community college across the state. Your contributions ensure that Iowa students have access to high-quality education and training and are well-equipped to advance in their college and career pathways.
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The State Park and Institutional Roads Program provides funding to construct, reconstruct, improve, and maintain roadways, including bridges, within the boundaries of state-owned lands or community college property. Sixty-five one-hundredths of one percent of the Road Use Tax Fund is allocated to maintain and improve the State Park and Institutional Roads system.
The Park and Institutional Roads System has over 600 miles of roadways. State agencies participating in the program are the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC), the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) State Fair Board, the Department of Human Services (DHS), the National Guard of Iowa, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Board of Regents and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Capitol Complex.
If interested in participating in this program, please complete this form to submit a proposal for State Park & Institutional Road funds for the calendar year 2031.
The deadline for calendar year 2031 road fund proposals is EOB Friday, May 29, 2026.
These funds are limited due to past obligations, so please limit your requests between $100,000 and $400,000 to accommodate more than one project per calendar year and note that the average project award amount has historically been approximately $200,000. The scoring rubric favors proposals from institutions that have not recently received funds.
Per Iowa Code, each agency is allocated a percentage of the fund based on the following: Iowa DNR (45.5%), Board of Regents (30%), Iowa DHS (6.5%), Iowa Department of Education (6%), Iowa DOC (5.5%), National Guard of Iowa (4%), State Fair Board (2%), and Iowa DAS Capitol Complex (0.5%).
For more information, please contact Education Program Consultant Dr. Jeff Fletcher at jeffrey.fletcher@iowa.gov
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Eligible programs interested in implementing Workforce Pell programs are encouraged to join upcoming technical assistance office hours this month.
The Workforce Pell office hours are scheduled for Friday, May 1 and Friday, May 8 from 10-11 a.m. via Zoom.
For more information about Workforce Pell, visit the Department's Workforce Pell webpage, or contact Division of Higher Education Administrative Consultant Kayli Sampson at kayli.sampson@iowa.gov.
The Division of Higher Education is tracking three Department pre-filed bills of particular interest to the community colleges.
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Bill
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Guidance and Updates
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Summary
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Current Status
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HF 2610
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Postsecondary Pathways
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CTE funding and definitions, a statewide lower-division general education framework with common course numbering, implementation of a statewide corequisite model in community colleges and the H3 definition.
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Passed – awaiting signature
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HF 2725
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Preparing to Implement Workforce Pell and Administrative Clean-up
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Education reporting updates, including sharing unit-level wage data for postsecondary program evaluation; creation of a Condition of Education report; changes to Future Ready Iowa responsibilities; revisions to Iowa Workforce Development data-sharing; and establishment of an ICSAC-overseen ROI system.
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Passed House chamber
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HF 2547
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Implementing HF 2545 Recommendations
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Modifies provisions related to career academies, collective statewide articulation agreement, district-to-community college sharing, and individual career and academic plans.
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Passed House chamber
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To see more details about these bills, or others, the Department's Legislative Tracker is on the Legislative Information page as the Education Bill Tracker.
The Bureau of Community Colleges staff recently completed its latest technical assistance webinars with a session on the supplemental weighted funding formula and student reporting.
This session focused on the basics of supplemental weighted funding and elements of entering data into the district's Student Information System for correct reporting to Student Reporting in Iowa. A recording of the webinar, along with other earlier webinars on pertinent topics are available on the technical assistance webpage.
For more information on these sessions, contact Education Program Consultant for Program Quality and Faculty Support Derreck Calkins at derreck.calkins@iowa.gov.
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At the annual Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference, West Liberty Community School District’s Zach Morris was named the 2026 Golden Owl Award winner.
Sponsored by the Iowa FFA Foundation, Nationwide Insurance and other partners in agriculture, the annual Golden Owl Award celebrates the outstanding work of secondary and postsecondary agriculture education leaders in Iowa. Students, fellow teachers, faculty and other partners submitted a record 834 nominations for exceptional educators in the field.
Morris was selected from seven finalists for the award. The other six finalists were also recognized during the conference and included:
- Barb Clawson- Iowa State University
- Krystal Wright- Benton Middle/High School (Benton Community School District)
- Malayne Meyer- Osage High School (Osage Community School District)
- Ben Booth- IKM-Manning Middle/High School (IKM-Manning Community School District)
- Allison Reuvers- Colfax-Mingo Junior/Senior High School (Colfax-Mingo Community School District)
- Tyler Wingert- Ridge View High School (Galva-Holstein Community Schools)
Congratulations to Zach Morris and the six finalists!
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The Iowa Department of Education recently announced that 17 Iowa schools are the first to be awarded the distinguished Iowa Purple Star School Program designation, following enactment of the Department’s prefiled legislative proposal in 2025. As an Iowa Purple Star School, these schools demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting military-connected students and learners.
Held in conjunction with the Month of the Military Child, the 17 schools in seven different school districts were honored at a ceremony at the State Capitol by Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer, Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow, Iowa National Guard Brigadier General Justin Wagner, Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Commandant Todd Jacobus and Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commissioner Laura Kacer.
To earn an Iowa Purple Star School designation, schools were required to appoint a staff member to serve as a military liaison for students and families and maintain a dedicated webpage with resources tailored to supporting military-connected families. Additionally, schools agreed to host programs or events that raise community awareness about the unique challenges faced by military-connected students, while also offering educator and staff professional development to help address those challenges. Those selected receive the Purple Star School designation for a three-year period.
Additional information on the Iowa Purple Star School Program can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s website. Questions regarding the Purple Star School designation can be directed to purple.star@iowa.gov
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It’s back for a second year! The 2026 Health Sciences Career Day returns this spring to introduce Iowa’s most in-demand health care careers and pathways to middle school and high school students. Iowa educators with classes in STEM, health sciences-related career and technical education and more are encouraged to register their classes or groups of students for the live, virtual event set on May 14.
Sponsored by the Iowa Hospital Association, Iowa Department of Education and several Iowa health systems, the Health Sciences Career Day offers career-connected learning and exploration of health care careers through engaging videos and live panel discussions. Participating students will hear from each provider on their education and training as well as real-life career experiences during the event.
Six high-demand health care fields will be highlighted during this year’s Health Sciences Career Day. Each 30-minute career segment will feature health care professionals who work in health systems in Iowa, including:
● 9 a.m. Pharmacy – Great River Health, West Burlington
● 9:30 a.m. Nursing – MercyOne, Des Moines
● 10 a.m. Radiology – Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, Council Bluffs
● 10:30 a.m. Physical Therapy – Cass Health, Atlantic
● 11 a.m. Emergency Medical Services – Mercy Medical Center, Cedar Rapids
● 11:30 a.m. Surgical Services – Unity Point Health, Des Moines
Registered participants will be able to access all sessions, and educators are welcome to join with an entire class or make sessions available to groups of students interested in health sciences and related careers. The format is flexible, so participants can join based on class schedule or interest in specific careers.
Questions regarding the Health Sciences Career Day can be directed to Corey Martin, Iowa Hospital Association senior vice president of education services, at martinc@ihaonline.org or Heather Meissen, Department administrative consultant, at heather.meissen@iowa.gov
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Mark your calendars now and make plans to attend an exciting annual statewide conference this spring.
The annual Iowa ACTE Conference is slated for June 19, 2026.
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