Gov. Reynolds, Iowa Department of Education award over $3.6 million to expand career opportunities.
$1 million each was awarded to Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, Iowa Valley Community College District, and Iowa Western Community College, and $618,000 was awarded to Iowa Central. This funding empowers more students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success through partnerships between community colleges, schools, industry, and community stakeholders. EICC plans to expand the Muscatine Industrial Technology Center that serves six area school districts, providing new lab space for career academies in CNC machining, digital modeling for manufacturing, engineering technology and welding. IVCCD plans to provide additional lab space for the automotive repair technician academy in Grinnell and support enrollment growth across six area high schools in existing academies spanning business administration, health sciences, manufacturing and paraeducator. Finally, ICCC plans to modernize the North Central Career Center with new health sciences equipment. To learn more, click here.
U.S. Department of Labor Officially Recognizes State Apprenticeship Agency
Iowa Workforce Development has announced that the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship has been officially recognized as a State Apprenticeship Agency by the U.S. Department of Labor. The recognition follows Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signing SF 2411 into law to increase work-based learning programs across Iowa. The new office is now charged with overseeing and administering all registered apprenticeship programs in the state, which will center around expanding available programs for apprentices. Iowa had more than 9,950 apprentices, 957 active programs, and over 2,100 employers engaged throughout the state in 2023. More information about the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship is available at apprenticeship.iowa.gov.
College Student Aid Commission Publishes Reports
CSAC recently published multiple notes with the General Assembly regarding their reporting requirements. These reports include the Skilled Workforce Shortage Tuition Grant Program Report and the Iowa Vocational-Technical Tuition Grant Program Report.
Community Colleges for Iowa Hosted New Title IX Policies Webinar
Community Colleges for Iowa contracted with Ahler and Cooney to produce a policy manual for new Title IX regulations. A web meeting with Ahlers occurred on Wednesday to review the policy manual and answer any questions individuals had. The webinar was recorded and is available behind our membership portal. Some of the high overview points were that it is unlikely that the rules will go into effect August 1 as they will most likely end up with an injunction. Be ready for implementation but also be ready to shift back to the old rules if need be.
Iowa Central Radiologic Technology Pinning Ceremony
Iowa Central's annual Radiologic Technology Pinning Ceremony, which honors our students completing the Radiologic Technology program, was held Tuesday, July 16th in the Bioscience and Health Sciences Building on the Fort Dodge campus. Radiologic Technology Program Coordinator, Lindsay Heffernan, opened the ceremony with a welcome to all graduates, families, and friends before recognizing the 2024 graduates for their hard work - over 1800 clinical hours, 180 hours in the lab, and over 600 hours in the classroom. Following Michaelah Petrowiak's address was the presentation of the Academic Excellence Award, Student Choice Award, Clinical Excellence Award, and the Excellence in Clinical Preceptor Award. After the pinning of the eighteen graduates, the ceremony closed with a reception for all attendees.
Fidelity Bank & Trust Gives $100,000 to Northeast Iowa Community College
One quarter of the donation, $25,000, will be set aside as an endowment for scholarships, allowing NICC to give a $1,000 perpetual scholarship to a student each year on behalf of the bank. The remaining $75,000 will go toward NICC's funding campaign and will be used in the NICC endowment that helps fund high priority initiatives for the college. To learn more, click here.