Responsiveness

Iowa State University responds to the education needs of Iowans by partnering with Iowa’s elementary and secondary education system, developing seamless pathways between multiple institutions, supporting the development of a multi-organizational higher learning center, and establishing collaborative ventures with communities.

Iowa State maintains strong connections and partnerships with learning organizations statewide. Below are several examples of ways that the University enhances childhood, elementary, and secondary education in the state and beyond.

Through a variety of projects, faculty in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, the Center for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Education, the Center for Technology in Learning and Teaching, and the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center, engage with youngsters in Iowa and the nation from birth to grade 12, supporting schools, teachers, and students in their educational roles. The Department of Curriculum and Instruction, in collaboration with other university departments, also prepares approximately 1,200 early childhood, elementary, and secondary teachers for Iowa schools.

A public-private partnership of more than 50 national organizations and government agencies representing education, health, fitness and nutrition called Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) addresses the epidemic of overweight, sedentary, and undernourished youth by focusing on changes in schools. Two Iowa State faculty members served as co-chairs for the state organization and continue to serve on the core committees for Iowa AFHK and Team Nutrition. During the 2005-2006 academic year the Iowa team will be working with the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) to assist school districts in developing new school wellness policies.

The Iowa State Center produces the annual Martha-Ellen Tye Performing Arts Institute, which is a performing arts outreach program. Since its inception in 1999, this program has involved over 70,000 K through 12 students, college students, and the general public in music, theater, and dance through a combination of master classes, lecture/demonstrations, performances and residencies. The institute epitomizes the land-grant mission of education and outreach by introducing students at all levels to the performing arts.

More than 220 minority students from public middle and high schools throughout Des Moines currently participate in Science Bound. Students who successfully complete the program and pursue a technical degree at Iowa State receive a full tuition scholarship. Research indicates that students in the program show more positive attitudes toward science, score significantly higher on academic achievement tests, have better school attendance, and have fewer discipline problems than non-SCIENCE BOUND students. SCIENCE BOUND operates on the tenet that educational programs are a joint responsibility, that students need to see applications of math and science as they relate to careers, and that they need to increase their math and science confidence through hands-on experiences. Activities take place after school and on Saturdays to augment and complement the regular school curriculum. The current program includes a one-week residential enrichment component at Iowa State, in-school meetings with a SCIENCE BOUND group, Saturday work with Iowa State professors, and an overnight field trip.

Approximately 1000 youth annually experience campus life and explore career opportunities and potential college majors at the Iowa 4-H Youth Conference held at Iowa State. Guided by Iowa State staff and faculty, delegates participate in hands-on workshops that help them connect their personal experiences to potential opportunities. The conference location also allows youth an opportunity to explore a college campus and become more comfortable with residence hall living, classroom buildings, and extra-curricular opportunities available on the campus.

Enrollment Services provides numerous programs, which enhance educational experiences for students in elementary and secondary school. Below are several examples.

The Office of Pre-Collegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted (OPPTAG) provides innovative programs for exceptional students in grades 2-11. The goal of the OPPTAG program is to match students with appropriate learning experiences, and emphasize an approach to teaching that underscores strengths and encourages high achievement. Additionally, all programs offer extracurricular enrichment experiences that broaden students’ knowledge of the world. Program Offerings include the Investigation Series, CY-TAG, Explorations! and Adventures! In addition, a new Website hosted by the Admissions Office has been designed to promote all University programs for youth.

College Bound programs prepare multicultural students in grades 1-12 for college admission, inform them of their college options, and assist them with application processes and financial aid. A total of 566 students attended a College Bound-sponsored event during the 2004-2005 year, including campus visits; a Career, College, and Leadership Conference; a Central Iowa Latino College Expo; college nights; EOP (Early Outreach Program) @ ISU; multicultural student workshops; Multicultural Vision Program; and a Native American Symposium.

The three Regents Universities are working together to promote the importance of rigor and academic standards in student success. We collaboratively publish and widely distribute a publication called “Building Your Future.” It has been mailed directly to all Iowa high schools and is available on the Board of Regents, State of Iowa Website at the following URL: http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/Admissions/Building_Your_Future.pdf

The publication includes a grid detailing the minimum requirements for admission as well as optimum recommendations for success. Last year, the grid was included on a book cover that was developed as a collaborative Regents Universities initiative and distributed to every middle school in the state of Iowa. And recently, folders with information about each of the Regents Universities that includes the grid were distributed to every middle school in the state of Iowa. Enough folders were distributed so that every middle schooler in Iowa could receive one! This past spring, the Regents Universities piloted a joint presentation for the parents of middle school students in the Des Moines area to talk about high school course selection, academic preparation for college, and financing a college education. Future dates and programs are under discussion that would include presentations in other areas of the state.

Finally, performance feedback is provided to high schools in Iowa. Each high school is mailed a joint Regents report annually that lists the names of their graduating seniors from the previous year who enrolled at a Regents university. This report provides each student’s cumulative GPA as well as their individual grades in English and math courses.

In Fall 2005, 1,388 new transfer students enrolled at Iowa State University—60% (835) from Iowa Community Colleges. Transfer students make up approximately 28% of the entering class each year. No institution enrolls more Iowa community college students than Iowa State University. To meet the needs of this population, Iowa State offers special transfer orientation and new student programs.

Admissions staff regularly visits every community college in the state, with a total of 59 Iowa visits in 2004-2005. Admissions staff maintains regular communication with transfer, TRIO, and Phi Theta Kappa advisers at the community colleges via electronic newsletters and mailings. Representatives from individual Iowa State colleges visit Iowa Community Colleges as well.

Admissions maintains equivalency guides with all 15 Iowa Community Colleges, 12 Illinois schools, 12 Minnesota schools, and selected institutions in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Iowa State has program-specific cooperative agreements in place with several Iowa institutions. For example, DMACC agreements include 35 program-specific agreements as well as the Cross Enrollment Program, the BLS degree (which students can complete at the DMACC-Ankeny campus), and a financial aid consortium agreement. A comprehensive list of agreements between Iowa State University and each Iowa Community College is available at (http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/equiv/pdf/lacts_2.pdf).

Public institutions in the state of Iowa have a long history of voluntary articulation. Statewide articulation agreements are available at http://www.admissions.iastate.edu/equiv/pdf/lacts_1.pdf. Recently, Iowa State provided leadership for articulation agreements in several ways. The 2004-2005 chairs of Liaison Advisory Committee on Transfer Students (LACTS) and the Regents’ Committee on Educational Relations (RCER) were from Iowa State University. Iowa State admissions staff also organized the 2004 Joint Regent—Iowa Community College Annual Articulation Conference.

Efforts to promote and enhance articulation continue within the University as well. The Articulation Coordination Committee (ACC), chaired by the Associate Provost for Academic Programs, works to improve articulation and student recruitment efforts. Action items include a pilot on-site registration, dual enrollment agreements, academic partnerships with selected community colleges, and making transfer plans more accessible to prospective transfer students via the Web.

A long-time supporter of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for students at 2-year institutions, Iowa State took the lead in offering scholarship opportunities to the highest-achieving PTK members. The Admissions Office sponsors a banquet annually at the regional conference and was a sponsor of the Hallmark Awards Banquet at the 2004 international conference. Admissions also participated in a 2004 advisers retreat and are regularly called on to provide keynote addresses for induction ceremonies.

In order to assist students seeking a 2+2 degree in Iowa, a web site was created as a tool to help find information relating to transfers between Iowa’s higher education institutions.

The Office of New Student Programs coordinates Orientation and Destination Iowa State for new entering undergraduates. For Fall 2005, 89% of the entering new undergraduates attended Orientation and 54% attended Destination Iowa State. Both programs exist to welcome new undergraduates to campus and to provide critical advising, registration, campus service information, etc. to ensure pathways to success for entering students.

Iowa State participates in several higher learning centers in an effort to meet education needs in the state and region.

Des Moines Higher Education Collaborative was founded in 2000 by seven of Iowa’s premier educational institutions— Drake University, Iowa State University, University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, Grand View College, Simpson College and Des Moines Area Community College. It seeks to meet the continuing education needs of central Iowa’s businesses and their employees through broad professional development programming that emphasizes “best business practices” and continuing higher education.

A teacher education program based in the Des Moines Higher Education Collaborative earned a national award as the 2005 distinguished college credit program focused on working adults. The George Washington Carver Teacher Education program was recognized with the Distinguished Credit Program Award by the Association for Continuing Higher Education Inc., Charleston, S.C. The program is a collaborative effort to provide an affordable teacher education degree to working adults who want to pursue a teaching degree but can't quit their jobs to earn it. The program has a special focus on recruiting and educating teachers of color and breaks new ground for public-private partnerships as well as collaborations between two- and four-year institutions.

Founded in 1990, the Tri-State Graduate Center is a consortium of colleges and universities in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Its mission is to facilitate the delivery of graduate education to the residents of Siouxland by bringing graduate programs and other training opportunities to the immediate area so that graduate-level training may be obtained without traveling to distant campuses.

The Quad-Cities Graduate Study Center is a publicly funded academic consortium of 10 colleges and universities. The Center facilitates graduate degree programs, graduate non-degree courses, and continuing professional education comparable to on-campus programs and courses for the Quad-Cities area.

Iowa State helps communities become their best by developing the capacity of organizations and local governments to make Iowa communities better places to live and work.

Iowa State Extension provides information and education, facilitation, and collaboration to build consensus for organizational and community development through programs such as the following.

• Community Voices, a leadership program that brings together community leaders and new immigrants, especially those for whom English is a second language.

• The Nonprofit Management Academy provides training and experience to nonprofit agency executives and boards of directors on topics such as human resource management, fiscal management, volunteer recruitment and management, marketing, interagency collaboration, and creating a diverse work environment. Each academy is conducted with partners, including the University of Iowa, University of Northern Iowa, University of Illinois, University of Nebraska, Kirkwood Community College, and numerous United Way offices across the state. Nonprofit management academies have been held in 12 counties in Iowa. Since 1999, more than 4,000 nonprofit managers have been trained.

• The Partnering Landscape and Community Enhancement (PlaCE) program partners Iowa State College of Design students with local leaders for assistance in establishing a new community vision.

• The Iowa Community Vitality Center (CVC) for community-based entrepreneurialism was awarded the National Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship Award given by the National Center for Small Cities.