Statewide Iowa (RI) — Iowa community college leaders say with additional state funding they could offer some four-year degrees and it would likely increase the number of Iowans who earn a bachelor’s degree.
Emily Shields is executive director of Community Colleges for Iowa.
Last year, lawmakers directed community colleges to study the feasibility of offering four-year degrees.
The leaders of Iowa’s 15 area community colleges are backing a bill that would give the system $20 million over the next five years to cover start-up costs. Shields says based on the experience in other states that let community colleges to make this move, it costs about $300,000 to start a new four-year degree program.
Shields indicates the focus would be on degrees in fields like information technology, health care, and advanced manufacturing. The bill would give each community college authority to decide what four-year degree programs to offer.
Brian Renfro is chancellor of the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, which has campuses in Clinton, Muscatine and Bettendorf. He says while four-year degree programs are being offered online, a recent survey shows students in the rural areas his community college want to find in-person programs.
Dan Kinney is president of the Council Bluffs-based Iowa Western Community College. Kinney says he wants to offer “workforce degrees” because southwest Iowa residents face the choice of moving hours away for a bachelor’s degree or not getting one at all.
The study by Community Colleges of Iowa found in states like Florida where community colleges offer four-year degrees, there had been no negative impact on enrollment in public universities or non-profit private colleges.
KIWA Staff Photo
