Community college leaders are telling lawmakers they’d like start-up funding and a change in the law to offer some bachelor’s degrees.
Last year, lawmakers directed community colleges, which typically award two-year associate degrees, to study the feasibility of offering bachelor’s degrees. Now college leaders say they could offer the degrees with some state support and would boost the education levels of non-traditional students.
They say in parts of the state that are far from a public university, it’s very difficult for adults who are already working and have families to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Emily Shields is executive director of Community Colleges for Iowa. She says they would focus on helping people advance in high-demand fields like health care, IT and advanced manufacturing.
“ There is undeniably a need. There are students who aren’t getting these opportunities right now and we always stand ready to meet that need,” Shields said.
Three community college leaders said if they don’t get start-up funding from the state, bachelor’s programs would get off to a much slower start
*Some Northwest Iowa school districts have received state grants for the fields of STEM, or Science Technology Engineering and Math.
Those grants went to 30 districts, including $50,000 to Harris-Lake Park, $40,000 to Storm Lake and also to Marcus Meriden Cleghorn Remsen Union.
The grants came from the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education. The school districts can use the money for existing or new programs related to science and math.
