Workforce development board sets smaller list of eligible jobs for Last-Dollar Scholarship program

Community college leaders and advocates say they are feeling confused and left out of conversations that led to the list of eligible career fields for the Last-Dollar Scholarship program being cut down by one-third.

The Last-Dollar Scholarship program is a state-funded initiative to help students attending community colleges bridge the gap between financial aid and what’s left of tuition and fees that still need to be paid.

The Iowa Workforce Development Board voted in May to eliminate high-demand jobs in law enforcement, medical fields and more, even though community college officials say the program is likely keep its streak of being underspent.

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Students must be enrolled in academic programs corresponding to “high-demand” careers as determined by the state in order to receive their funding. Community Colleges for Iowa Executive Director Emily Shields said all 66 of the careers recommended by the organization fit the criteria to be included, but the state workforce board still voted to remove 20 occupations. The list is reviewed every two years, she said.

“When we’re helping students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford college to afford it in any high demand area, then we’re helping the workforce,” Shields said. “The Legislature put a definition of high demand into code for this program, and everything we’ve recommended meets that definition.”

Shorter list eliminates public safety, health care jobs

Occupations removed from the list span criminal justice fields for law enforcement and firefighters, medical assisting, dental hygiene, dental assisting and wastewater, Shields said, alongside more “support function” roles like web design and secretarial work.

While the jobs list was cut by around one-third, Shields said there isn’t a one-to-one transfer to academic programs that can feed into those careers. In reality, she said about half of the academic programs cleared for Last-Dollar Scholarship recipients will no longer qualify for incoming students, according to calculations made by Iowa College Aid.

“Those are all programs that lead into occupations that are really critical right now in our communities,” Shields said.

Matt Thompson, president of Indian Hills Community College, who spoke alongside Shields during the meeting’s public comment section, said the change to the list will impact the community college’s future students and programs.

While students currently receiving a Last-Dollar Scholarship will continue to see support until their program is completed, Thompson said as many as 2,500 students will not be able to benefit from the scholarship while trying to earn the same credentials.

“When we work with a student population that is sometimes underrepresented, if not underresourced, having access to the Last-Dollar Scholarship program makes a huge difference in whether they plan to attend college or not,” Thompson said.

Program spending falls short of funding

This cut in programs comes as the Last-Dollar Scholarship program looks to be underspent for another year, college leaders say, after changes to student eligibility and among uncertainty surrounding federal financial aid.

According to the Last-Dollar Scholarship website, in fiscal year 2024 the state awarded $18.3 million in scholarships to more than 8,000 students, with an average award amount of just under $2,300. At Indian Hills Community College, 467 students received the scholarship in 2024.

Two years ago, the program was underspent by almost $6 million, Shields said, and while final numbers are not yet available, it seems like the program being underspent once again is a likely outcome. According to legislation signed this year by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the scholarship program fund will receive almost $24 million for the upcoming fiscal year.

“I’ll add the caveat to all of that, that there is so much uncertainty with federal student aid right now, and since this is a last dollar scholarship, it will be significantly impacted by that,” Shields said. “So it is very, very hard to make predictions about what that’s going to look like.”

The board itself was split on whether to adopt the larger list recommended by community colleges or the state’s shorter list, with a proposed amendment to swap the state list for the college one failing with a 7-6 vote.

Board member Nick Glew said during the meeting he approached this decision from the perspective of needing to do whatever is possible to boost the workforce in Iowa. He said following community colleges’ recommendations would be the best decision for Iowans “as a whole,” because the colleges work with employers to provide the programming that best meets the businesses’ and students’ needs.

“I’m kind of disappointed that we have to kind of arm wrestle on this a little bit and figure out what the right way to go is,” Glew said.

Kelly Barrick, a board member who favored using the shorter list, disagreed that the longer list was appropriate due to the program being underspent. She said it’s not about getting anyone who studies for a job in Iowa money, but ensuring that it is well-spent within established parameters. Focusing on areas with the most need, like advanced manufacturing and health care, for the program will help fill the state’s most in-demand jobs.

Shields said the workforce board used to have a representative from the colleges as a member, but this was changed a few years ago. This year, the organization and colleges were told they could only participate through public comment.

She was told at a later meeting that Iowa code requires the board to work with the Iowa Board of Regents on their list of applicable jobs for the Iowa Workforce Grant but not community colleges.

“There has been more collaboration in the past, so this year was a little surprising on that front,” Shields said.

If community colleges had been consulted or had the opportunity to speak with the board before the list was finalized, Thompson said he would have been happy to go over all of the programs and see what compromises both groups could come to.

“We would just like to have the ability to sit down and have the conversation and plan with Iowa Workforce Development, and that just didn’t happen,” Thompson said.

This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.