Iowa community colleges seeing enrollment bump from high schoolers

CEDAR RAPIDS — A new report shows that Iowa high schoolers taking joint community college courses is larger than a decade ago and increasingly important to the bottom line of community colleges, which have been stung by the pandemic.

Where jointly enrolled high schoolers made up 25 percent of Iowa’s total community college enrollment in 2011, they accounted for more than 40 percent in the 2021 academic year, according to a new Iowa Department of Education report.

Joint enrollment accounts for a smaller percent of total community college credit hours because current high school students generally enroll only part-time, compared with high school graduates who more frequently enroll full-time.

But joint enrollment-credit hour percentages, too, have nearly doubled over the decade — even with recent pandemic complexities — accounting for over 25 percent of all community college credit hours taken, up from 13 percent in 2011.

“Though the COVID-19 pandemic impacted enrollment for many areas of education in academic year 2020-2021, joint enrollment in Iowa community colleges continues to be a popular option for high school students,” according to the report released last week.

It shows 47,262 high school students jointly enrolled in one of Iowa’s 15 community colleges last year.

That’s down nearly 9 percent from the record 51,800 who enrolled the year before, but it’s up nearly 22 percent from 38,892 in 2011.

Kristy Black, executive dean of distance learning at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, said she expects strong joint enrollment numbers in the next report also.

“Our internal data is telling us that we have rebounded and are likely going to be above our pre-pandemic numbers,” Black said. “So we are definitely this year turning the corner and moving in the right direction.”

Joint enrollment is defined as high school students enrolled in community college courses, which they can do at no cost to their families. It is paid for through supplemental weighting provided through the state’s school funding formula and contracts school districts and non-public schools have with colleges.

The vast majority of Kirkwood’s high school enrollment comes via those contracted courses under the label “concurrent enrollment.”

Altogether, jointly enrolled students have been consuming a larger share of Iowa’s community college population — and their tuition revenue — as total enrollment has been dropping across public, private and community colleges locally and nationally.

“Our concurrent enrollment has really been taking off across the state, and we're really fortunate in the state of Iowa that there are financial incentives provided to the schools for these programs, which really create a no cost to students and families,” Black said. “So certainly as more and more students and families are finding out about concurrent enrollment and the benefits and the cost savings it can bring to them, it is definitely playing into the increased enrollment.”

Advantages

Benefits of taking community college courses while still in high school are at least threefold for students, according to Black.

Plus, Black reiterated, they are free for the students.

The cost-saving option for reducing general education requirements in college is among the reasons Monticello High School junior Jaelyn Aitchison, 17, said she started community college courses last year as a sophomore.

“It kind of makes me better prepared for what a college class would be like,” she told The Gazette. “And, along with it, I will get college credit. So then when I get to college, I'll have some my credits done, which is nice.”

Aitchison is hoping to attend the University of Northern Iowa to pursue a business degree. Her first joint enrollment course last year — “Intro to Business” — fit that interest. The two community college courses she’s taken this year are more in the general education vein: “Intro to Psychology” and “Fundamentals to Oral Communication.”

Clear Creek Amana High School senior Amanda Weih, 17, has tapped Kirkwood’s high school career academy for nursing — taking six total Kirkwood classes over the course of her senior year. She’ll finish her Kirkwood nursing prerequisites next year before transferring to Mount Mercy University’s four-year nursing program the following year.

“By doing these courses in high school, the high school pays for them,” Weih said. “So therefore, those are a couple classes in college that I won't have to worry about paying for, won’t have to worry about adding to the cost of everything else. It's just a great way to get started.”

'Steady growth for sure’

Through state funds supporting school districts’ ability to pay community colleges for the concurrent enrollment classes, Iowa’s community colleges in the 2021 academic year collectively generated more than $35.3 million.

Des Moines Area Community College made the most — nearly $8 million — from its 14,888 concurrently-enrolled high schools representing 79 school districts, followed by Kirkwood, generating $4.7 million from its 5,398 students representing 43 districts.

Kirkwood’s high school enrollment accounts for a smaller cut of its total student body than other community colleges across the state — at 32 percent, compared to the 40 percent average and a high of up to 51 percent for Northeast Iowa Community College.

But that proportion has been increasing for Kirkwood, which saw its joint enrollment proportion top 30 percent for the first time in 2021. A decade ago, in 2011, high school students made up 15 percent of Kirkwood’s student body and they accounted for just 5 percent of its total credit hours — the lowest in the state.

Nearly half of its jointly enrolled student are seniors — 49 percent — followed by juniors at 31 percent, sophomores at 13 percent and freshman at 7 percent.

And although Iowa high schoolers aren’t an infinite resource — with modeling showing Iowa’s high school population will dip in the coming years — Kirkwood’s Black said state data shows about 27 percent of Iowa’s high schoolers are jointly enrolling now, signaling plenty of room for growth.

“When you look at our individual schools here in our service area, we have some schools that are far above that state average, we have some that are right at that average, and we have some that are below that average,” she said. “So I do think we're still just scratching the surface with the parents and students even knowing and understanding that there are opportunities out there.

“I do believe we will continue to see some steady growth for sure over the next five years.”

If Black needs an advocate, she need look no further than Highland High School senior Tristen Wendling, 17, who has taken 12 community college courses over his junior and senior years — putting him one year at Kirkwood away from an associate degree.

Wendling said he’s planning to get that — likely in political science — before continuing on to a four-year institution. But he’s also eager to start his work in the political arena.

“It really boils down to what's the best option for my career, and Kirkwood allows me to network with a lot of people — and I'm interested in the field of politics, so networking is pretty big,” he said. “It also really is just kind of preparing me for college and preparing me for that life.”

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com