Education Deserts, Enrollment Cliffs, and Schoolyard Bullies
Stop Undermining Iowa's Natural Assets
Now that the Iowa legislature has done its best to weaken the foundations of Iowa’s K-12 public school system, it’s focused on eroding the pillars of higher ed.
A new crop of legislative proposals advancing past the first funnel deadline raises serious concerns.
(1) HF 2649 would establish a pilot program allowing community colleges to launch up to three bachelor’s degree programs. This would pave the way for greater competition with Iowa’s 26 not-for-profit private liberal arts colleges.
The bill specifies that community colleges located 50 miles or less from a four-year school with a similar degree are ineligible. But this distinction means very little; most community colleges operate satellite campuses.
Taylor Collins (R-Mediapolis), chair of the Iowa House’s Higher Education Committee, argues that the legislation is needed to fill education deserts, serve place-bound adults, and others unable to afford a four-year degree. However, it potentially could trigger an avalanche of financial woes at the exact time as the predicted demographic enrollment cliff. A sharp drop in births traced back to the 2008 Great Recession is projected to lead to a 13-15% decline in college-age freshmen nationwide during the next decade.
It risks siphoning students from Iowa’s private colleges and universities, undermining their financial survival.
The initial investment of setting up 40 new degree programs is tagged at $20 million over the next five years. What would be the funding mechanism? New programs would require oversight, assessment, credentials, and compliance. Meanwhile, private colleges and universities already provide student access to four-year degrees at little or no cost to Iowa taxpayers.
The issue of unfair competition is at the core: Community colleges receive state funding, and private colleges do not.
(2) HF 2240, another brainchild of the Higher Education Committee, proposes raising the taxable threshold on university endowments. The tax would increase from 15% to the highest corporate rate, and the threshold would be raised to $500 million from $250 million. This would apply to endowments at Grinnell College, the University of Iowa, and Iowa State University.
Collins argues the endowments should be used for the “benefit of Iowa students.” The legislation would funnel the tax proceeds to students majoring in “high-demand, high-paying” jobs.
Wouldn’t reasonable leaders recognize that this would cast a pall over charitable giving? Donors rarely offer a blank check – instead choosing to designate gifts. Furthermore, about 80% of college and universities use their endowments to offer scholarships. Taxing endowments at higher rates would make higher education less affordable at these institutions.
(3) HF 2488 aims to tether the Iowa Tuition Grant to a state mandate eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at private colleges and universities. Public state universities were forced last year to scrub any trace of DEI. Now the Iowa Tuition Grant is being weaponized as a cudgel against private colleges and universities to satisfy the Republican’s counterproductive vendetta.
The Iowa Tuition Grant was created over 50 years ago to help rural and low-income students afford college. Many recipients became first-generation college graduates. Eligible private school college students can apply for a $7,500 Iowa Tuition Grant each year.
Full disclosure. I received my undergraduate degree from Morningside, a private liberal arts institution. I didn’t even consider attending a four-year public university because I wasn’t able to obtain more financial aid there, most notably the Iowa Tuition Grant (Federal Pell Grant and work-study).
Between one-third and one-half of Iowa tuition grant-eligible enrolled students attend private colleges and universities. Although I lived and worked briefly in three other states, I returned to Iowa, where I spent 36+ years contributing to its tax base. That seem like a reasonably good return on Iowa’s investment.
Private College Students Reach New Heights
I question the research supporting these legislative proposals. I understand that legislators want to align Iowa’s higher education degrees with Iowa’s workforce needs. Where are Iowa’s education deserts? Thanks to technology, private colleges and universities as well as community colleges offer a combination of in-person, hybrid and online learning options.
What high demand workforce needs are unmet? I’ve seen the following degree programs listed: nursing, education, I.T., public safety, business, health care management, and agriculture. Where are the students unable to obtain these degrees?
Not only do I question the research justifying these proposals, I also suspect lawmakers are unaware of the evolution of curriculum and degree programs at Iowa’s private liberal colleges and universities over the past decade. I’d wager it would be difficult today to find an undergraduate degree in philosophy. New degree programs have been created in response to changing workforce demands in local communities, as well as requests for career-relevant, specialty training.
Here’s a sampling of recent market-oriented majors:
· Morningside University in Sioux City launched its School of Agriculture & Aviation in 2015. Students enrolled in the Regina Roth Applied Agriculture and Food Studies Program have a choice of a major or minor in Applied Agriculture and Food Studies, as well as agriculture education, along with minors in agribusiness, agronomy, food safety and environmental policy. The Lags Greenhouse, added in 2022, grows 2,000 pounds of food for the school cafeteria, sells poinsettias to the public, and amaranth to a local grocer. Aquaponics is incorporated into the hydroponic greenhouse. The 2.5 acre site also grows larger crops, including pumpkins, sweet corn, squash and melons as well as a vineyard.
In 2022, Morningside University purchased a 76-acre farm just southeast of the city, where students are planting and growing crops, learning about soil quality, farm practices, fertility strategies, and conducting research.
· Morningside launched aviation management, professional flight, and un-crewed aircraft systems majors in fall 2023. The program is fully accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration and its current application for the Restricted Airline Transport Pilot Program would allow graduates to apply for airline transport certificates with 1,000 flight hours.
· R.N. to B.S.N. degrees. Morningside University’s Nylen School of Nursing and Health Sciences recently announced its merger with St. Luke’s College (part of Unity Point Health) in Sioux City. They’ve collaborated on bachelor degrees for years, and after the merger is finalized this year, their combined students will be able to pursue an associate degree at Morningside in radiologic technology and respiratory therapy, an associate of science in nursing, and an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing.
· Buena Vista University in Storm Lake recently set up a partnership with a 160-acre family farm, allowing students in science, agriculture, and the environment to gain interdisciplinary opportunities for hands-on education, experiential learning, and research. The Boettcher Raccoon River Sustainable Agriculture Center 10 miles north of the campus will open this spring.
Other Iowa private colleges and universities are expanding in market-related directions. Coe College in Cedar Rapids is partnering with the Eastern Iowa Airport and Revv Aviation to offer aviation management and the option of flight school.
If You Build it, Will They Come?
Technical and vocational training is vital for tomorrow’s workforce. Most employers expect to provide new hires with specific training. They also need well-rounded students who are problem-solvers, critical thinkers, and can work as a team. Research shows the average individual changes careers five to seven times.
Private liberal arts colleges and universities are integral to the economic and cultural landscapes of their communities. Have legislators researched the financial impact if some are put out of business by unfair competition with the state of Iowa? The loss of Iowa Wesleyan University in 2023 sent shock waves through Mt. Pleasant. It’s unlikely these well-paying jobs will be replaced.
Most importantly, the creation of four-year community college programs to fill workforce needs doesn’t mean potential students will crash down the entrance gates to enroll. Case in point: the University of Iowa’s Center of Intellectual Freedom was rammed through the legislature in 2025, and it’s struggling to attract students. Private colleges and universities spend considerable effort studying new student-driven programs prior to launching.
Furthermore, high need jobs aren’t always highly-paid: namely child care or nursing homes. Iowa desperately needs to fill these positions; they don’t require four-year degrees. Doesn’t Iowa also need pastors, social workers, and EMTs? If private colleges lose out to expanded competition from community colleges, this would diminish students’ access to education close to home.
Legislators point to the success of other states from similar initiatives: do these states have a network of private liberal arts colleges comparable to Iowa? Iowa’s higher education offerings are the envy of most: three Regents institutions, 15 community colleges, and 26 not for profit, private colleges and universities. With the exception of Florida, most four-year community college programs in other states are too recent to allow for evaluation. Would a hastily implemented initiative lead to duplication?
What’s the success rate of Iowa students transferring from community colleges to four-year schools? They’ve been coordinating for decades. However, if students are struggling, are there other low-cost, less risky fixes to apply?
Other factors to consider:
· the increasing numbers of high school students earning college credits from community colleges
· the growing percent going straight into the workforce: to 17% from 9% between 2012-2022
· the possibility some community college would drop some associate degrees?
Weaponizing the Iowa Tuition Grant against private colleges and universities seems rich to me: the Iowa legislature recklessly hands out Educational Saving Account funds to private K-12 students, but allows these school administrators to operate independently from most state requirements and oversight.
I have one final question: Do we really need the Iowa House Higher Education Committee? This is the first committee to oversee higher education in over 50 years. Collins say its purpose is to review all areas of higher education to see if objectives are met and address “a crisis of confidence in higher education.” So far, it appears the Committee is simply using the tactics of schoolyard bullies: stealing the lunch buckets of colleges and universities.
Am I the only one who doesn’t see the need to interfere in the continuing evolution of higher education curriculum? Aren’t universities and colleges governed by boards and regents? Such micromanagement poses a real risk of damaging the economic engine driving Iowa’s well-rounded system of higher education.
Quality of Life Incentives
Here’s my suggestion to the Iowa legislature. Instead of trying to force Iowa youth into pre-determined job molds which inevitably will morph and evolve with the job market, why not focus on making Iowa a great place to live? A welcoming place? A place with an unparalleled quality of life, including clean water, recreational trails, libraries, child care options, reduced cancer rates, and academic freedom? A place where Iowa youth want to live and work after college, and one that would attract new residents to fill the “high-demand, high-wage” positions?
Such quality of life improvements also would accrue to hard-working Iowa parents who have spent a lifetime investing their love, energy, financial resources and taxpayer dollars into raising their children here, only to see them leave, along with their future grandchildren – tomorrow’s future workers. Why not entice them to employ their talents and skills to build better communities and a stronger Iowa?
Finally: Research suggests states that will successfully circumvent the demographic enrollment cliff will be identified by one key asset: Hispanic students. However, this seems exactly the opposite direction that Iowa legislators, as well as our Congressional delegation, are headed.
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What’s clear is the desperate need to elect representatives who are well versed in critical thinking instead of morons incapable of doing anything other than venturing into areas well beyond their intellectual capacity.
Why is the legislature and the governor continually messing with Iowa’s educational system? Isn’t the money flowing into private schools and the lack of additional financing for public school enough of a disaster to convince legislators they are headed down the wrong path - again?
Community colleges were not created to compete with universities or 4-year colleges. They each play a valuable part in the overall system, but duplication is not needed. If a student thinks they can’t afford a 4 year program at a private school, the colleges are usually willing to work with them by finding an on campus job to help with expenses.
Let’s get back to reality. Iowa has plenty of opportunities for students in post secondary education. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
If Iowa has extra money to throw around, I suggest they invest it in public schools, many who are struggling.