Community colleges can provide four-year degrees students need

At Iowa Central Community College, our purpose is simple and student-centered: we want students to finish their degrees or certifications in the shortest time possible, with the least amount of student loan debt, so they can have a better life. This purpose helps us fulfill our mission by meeting Iowans where they are and preparing them for successful careers that strengthen our communities.

That mission guided our participation when the Iowa Legislature asked community colleges to study whether offering bachelor’s degrees could help address unmet workforce and student needs. What we found confirmed what we see every day on our campuses. For some students and communities, a gap exists. Community colleges are well-positioned to help fill it.

Access remains at the core of this issue. Many students in Iowa Central’s region and others across the state are place-bound. They have jobs, families, community ties, or economic situations that make relocation unrealistic. When a bachelor’s degree is only available hours away or at a cost that puts it out of reach, students often stop short of their goals. Brain drain in our region is real. When students must leave to obtain baccalaureate-level workforce training, it becomes much more difficult to recruit them back, creating economic development disparities across our state. Higher tuition costs or online-only programs should not be the only option. By offering local, affordable, and flexible pathways, we can help keep talent in rural Iowa, support regional employers, and provide students with a path to advancement.

This conversation is not about competing with Iowa’s four-year colleges and universities. Their missions are different from ours, and those differences are important. Iowa Central focuses on applied, workforce-driven education for students who are often first-generation college goers, working adults, parents, or hands-on learners. Expanding into carefully selected bachelor’s degrees would complement existing institutions, not duplicate them.

At Iowa Central, we see growing demand for bachelor’s-level credentials in technical and applied fields tied directly to employment. These are areas where employers need graduates with advanced skills and practical experience, and where students benefit from education that builds on existing associate degree programs. Examples include bachelor's programs in nursing, accounting, business, education, advanced manufacturing, technology, and so much more. This approach reflects our strengths and responds to real labor market needs.

Community colleges are also designed around how many students move through education and careers. We emphasize stackable credentials that allow students to progress from certificate to diploma to associate degree and, when appropriate, to a bachelor’s degree. This model recognizes that students often balance education with work and family responsibilities and need options that fit their lives.

For 60 years, Iowa’s community colleges have worked collaboratively with K-12 schools, universities, and private colleges. That is why much of the rhetoric on this proposal has been disappointing and has ignored the needs of place-bound, often rural, students in Iowa. The Legislature’s responsibility is to make decisions that are best for students, taxpayers, and Iowa’s future workforce, not shield any sector or institution from change. Iowa supports private colleges through the Iowa Tuition Grant, a significant investment that helps them continue serving their students.

Just as important, this bipartisan proposal preserves the core identity of community colleges. We are not shifting toward liberal arts or faith-based curricula. We will serve our local communities deliberately, stay focused on applied and hands-on education, and engage faculty, staff, students, employers, and legislators every step of the way.

There are students in our region who want a bachelor’s degree and do not currently have an option that works for them. There are employers who need those graduates to stay and work here. At Iowa Central, we believe higher education policy should put students first, strengthen the workforce, and reflect the realities of today’s learners and communities.

I appreciate the Legislature’s willingness to engage in a thoughtful discussion on this issue and look forward to continuing the conversation with Iowa students and Iowa’s future at the center, so they, too, can have a better life.

Jesse Ulrich is president of Iowa Central Community College.