Et cetera : IA community colleges enter admission agreement with Iowa Private Collaborative

Iowa higher education institutions are collaborating to create transfer pathways from community colleges to private four-year institutions

(Des Moines, Iowa—October 16, 2024) Fifteen Iowa community college presidents met Wednesday, September 25 in Des Moines to approve the Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee admission agreement with the Iowa Private Transfer Collaborative that aims to streamline the transfer process for Iowa community college and qualifying* high school students to private four-year institutions.

The Iowa Private Transfer Collaborative (IPTC) is a group of 19 private, nonprofit colleges and universities across the state of Iowa that received a three-year, $350,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis and Teagle foundations in June 2023 to support this initiative. The grant will fund work across the state aimed at bringing together faculty from community colleges and four-year institutions to ensure the seamless transfer of academic credits and place a greater emphasis on the retention rate for students who transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions.

In addition to approving the Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee, participating private institutions are working to make their campuses more transfer-friendly in terms of accepting existing transfer majors from community colleges and identifying ways to make their campuses more receptive to transfer students.

“Iowa’s community colleges strive to meet every student where they are, no matter their background or path forward,” said Kristie Fisher, Kirkwood Community College President and Chair of the Iowa Association of Community College Presidents. “This agreement will help us increase success for students who plan to transfer to one of Iowa’s outstanding private colleges.”

The Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee applies to students who are pursuing an Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) degree at any Iowa community college. Through this agreement, they are guaranteed admission to the IPTC’s 19 private colleges and universities across the state, bringing educational opportunities closer to home for many community college students.

Under the grant, private institutions will work to adopt the existing statewide transfer majors of biology, chemistry, English, history, psychology, and sociology. Other transfer credit policies will also be implemented, including the expansion of general education articulation agreements and reverse transfer opportunities.

The grant will also fund the redevelopment of the iowaprivatecolleges.org website to help centralize student transfer information for private colleges and universities. A part-time project director was hired through the grant to coordinate grant activities. The IPTC joins many other states in receiving an implementation grant to open transfer pathways to liberal arts degrees for community college students.

Participating community colleges are Des Moines Area Community College, Eastern Iowa Community College, Hawkeye Community College, Iowa Central Community College, Iowa Lakes Community College, Iowa Valley Community College, Iowa Western Community College, Indian Hills Community College, Kirkwood Community College, North Iowa Area Community College, Northeast Iowa Community College, Northwest Iowa Community College, Southeastern Community College, Southwestern Community College, and Western Iowa Tech Community College.

Members of the IPTC are Briar Cliff University, Buena Vista University, Central College, Clarke University, Coe College, Cornell College, Drake University, Graceland University, Grand View University, Loras College, Luther College, Morningside University, Mount Mercy University, Northwestern College, Saint Ambrose University, Simpson College, University of Dubuque, and Wartburg College, and William Penn University. The two nonprofit organizations facilitating distribution of the grant money are the Iowa Higher Education Loan Authority and the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges & Universities. 

*High schoolers completing their associate degrees while still in high school must still apply through the first-year/freshman application process but  are considered eligible students under the Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee agreement. All students must apply to their intended four-year schools, either through the transfer or first-year admission process.