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Getting in the Holiday Spirit

The IACCT staff and a special helper had a blast in early December getting ready for our holiday event. We hope everyone who came had a chance to take it all in!

A blonde 12-year-old stands with a smile, decorating a Christmas tree with gold sparkly ornaments.

Dave's Retirement Party and Holiday Event

We had such a wonderful time celebrating Dave this month, and he is thrilled so many were able to come and wish him well. We will all miss you so much, Dave! You are irreplaceable!

Dave Palmer and Laurie Wolf stand smiling at the camera. Dave has his arm around Laurie's shoulder. Dave is wearing a suit and a tie, and Laurie is wearing a red and black sweater with a black dress.

Dave stands holding an honorary award from the Iowa Legislature in honor of his many years of service. Senators Herman Quirmbach and Claire Celsi stand next to him presenting him the award.

Trustee Education: Welcoming New Board Members

We had a great discussion with Paul Thelen and Deann Cook on best practices in welcoming on new board members during our December IACCT Board meeting. As so many of our boards have changed up membership, we hope this presentation was helpful! If you didn't get a chance to attend the presentation, don't worry--you can find the recording here and in the Member Portal.

Tyson Partnership with Hawkeye Community College

With the 1+2 "earn and learn" program, Tyson employees receive hands-on training at Hawkeye Community College's Cedar Falls Center, which takes about 8 months to complete. After completing the industrial maintenance training, graduates can expect a starting salary of $68,000 per year with Tyson.

For more information on Hawkeye's industrial maintenance short-term training program: https://www.hawkeyecollege.edu/.../industrial-maintenance

Find the news story here.

Community College Shadow Experiences

Did you know that Kirkwood Community College's Workplace Learning Connection offers virtual and in-person shadow experiences? Our Colleges offer these options as we want our training and education to be accessible to as many students as possible.

Full story

Early Childhood Education Concurrent Enrollment at SCC

These students from Central Lee High School are taking an Early Childhood Education class through Southeastern Community College, earning College credit while they are still in high school. They worked in small groups with the 3-year-old preschoolers during their visit, also checking out the SCC Learning Lab, Corse Childcare/Preschool site, as well as the Head Start site.

High school students wearing SCC shirts are standing observing a teacher with preschool students sitting at low tables.

A high school student sits at a low table, working with two preschool students as they work on a project.

Governor Reynolds Awards $4 Million in Grants to 4 Community Colleges

Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education awarded $1 million competitive grants to selected Community Colleges. NIACC, Iowa Lakes Community College, Des Moines Area Community College, and Iowa Western each received $1 million to "increase access to career academy programs in high-demand fields." Students will benefit from "industry partnerships, earn high school and college credit and gain technical and academic skills offered through career and technical education programs." Congratulations, everyone!!!!

ACCT National Legislative Summit in Washington D.C. Feb. 6-9

Registration

Preparing for NLS

Aligning Credit and Noncredit for Equity Online Workshop

A photo of thumbtacks with lines connecting them in a criss-cross pattern. The text reads Aligning Credit and Non-Credit for Equity. Monday, March 28, Noon to 4 via Zoom. Registration link below!

Nationally, most Community Colleges offer non-credit workforce programs and credit-based programs that operate separately. While there are reasons for the separation of programs and some distinctions are in fact beneficial, other differences are simply default or arbitrary. And so, the two systems often exist separately, causing potential content duplication, lack of communication, and missed opportunities to collaborate and build pathways. Students enrolled in these programs are particularly impacted. Students in non-credit programs do not often have a direct pathway to continue their education on the credit side toward a degree. They are unlikely to receive credit for the learning that occurred in their non-credit program and unlikely to have access to financial aid or other means of funding for their education. The student experience in non-credit workforce programs is inequitable to that of students in credit programs in terms of their access to services, visibility, and representation across the institution. (From “A More Unified Community College,” ESG, 2020)

Iowa Community Colleges teams are invited to a special Zoom workshop on Friday, March 28th designed to help all Iowa Community Colleges identify a set of action steps or priorities to get started on aligning noncredit and credit programs on their campuses. The workshop, led by Education Strategy Group will include:

  • Making the case for how aligning noncredit and credit programs is an equity issue;
  • Aligning with current equity initiatives at the colleges and the association, among others; and
  • Specific breakouts for those colleges that have begun aligning noncredit and credit and for those that aspire to, but have not yet started.

Register for this special session exclusively for Iowa Community College leaders today. Registration is free. Suggested attendees include presidents, vice presidents, academic deans or department heads, noncredit programs or department heads, registrar, advising, financial aid, institutional research, noncredit faculty, and credit faculty. 

Zoom Registration Link

Education Strategy Group (ESG) is a mission-driven, national consulting firm specializing in K-12, higher education and workforce solutions. In 2020, ESG released, A More Unified Community College, a guide that details resources and best practices for community colleges to better align their noncredit and credit programs. ESG has a track record of presenting on this framework at national conferences and upon request to state systems and colleges. Past clients include the Association of Community College Trustees, Achieving the Dream, the National Council on Workforce Education, the Hawaii Community College System and the Texas Community College Association.

February 2022 ACCT National Legislative Summit

Have you signed up yet for the 2022 ACCT National Legislative Summit? It'll be here before you know it! For more information and to register: https://www.nls.acct.org/

Counselors Supporting and Guiding Current and Future Students

College & career transition counselors like Linn-Mar High School's Sheryl Bass are vital in supporting students. Partnering with Colleges like Kirkwood Community College, these CCTC counselors are equipped to guide students toward post-secondary options or other opportunities like the workforce or the military. Full story.

Nontraditional Paths Can Make a Bright Future

For many reasons, some students are unable to finish and receive their high school diploma. Our Community Colleges not only provide ways in which to complete a high school equivalency, but also provide opportunities to improve their futures. Stephanie Rodriguez graduated from Iowa Valley with not only her high school equivalency, but continued on to get her LPN, hoping to go back soon to get her RN.

"Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community"

The exhibit "Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community" by Iowa Artist Pam Douglas is now on exhibit on DMACC's Ankeny Campus. Her exhibit consists of 7,445 cranes representing the Iowans who have died because of COVID-19. The exhibit is dedicated to their lives and memories.

The exhibit can be found in the Student Center, Bldg. #5. Full story.

Colleges Training Truck Drivers to Strengthen the Supply Chain

The supply chain crisis continues, and truck drivers are still in high demand. Our Colleges are working hard in addressing this crisis. Two recent stories have come out about Hawkeye and Kirkwood, both whose gap tuition programs provides partial or full assistance for qualifying students looking to start in this field where many are being offered 6-figure starting salaries.

Kirkwood full story

Hawkeye full story

 

 

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