Mark Nook strengthens partnership with visit to IHCC

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Mark Nook solidified the partnership between Indian Hills Community College (IHCC) and UNI. This will give students the opportunity to earn their bachelor’s degree online. 

According to Paul Sapp, the interim IACC director, the program started in January of 2020. It began with the partnership between UNI and Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) which placed him on the DMACC urban campus in downtown Des Moines.  

“The main focus of this partnership has been the recruitment of placebound students into online programs through UNI,” Sapp said. “These students are typically place-bound because they’re working adults, or own homes in the Des Moines area, or have children, so it’s not realistic for them to come to Cedar Falls to complete a degree.” 

After completing their degree through DMACC, students can now stay at home and complete one of the seven UNI degrees:  Bachelor of Liberal Studies, Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Elementary Education,  BA in Management: Business, Administration, BA in Human Services, BA in Technology Management, Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) in Managing Business & Organizations and a BAS or BA in Criminal Justice.

The partnership will soon be expanded to Western Iowa Tech Community College, Iowa Western Community College and Indian Hills Community College. 

“We will have UNI Student Support Specialists at each of those community colleges, in addition to DMACC – but students from any Iowa community college can do one of these online programs,” Sapp said. 

Many opportunities are opened up by this program. “Students in these programs are eligible for Future Ready Scholarships. If eligible, the scholarship makes their UNI tuition roughly the same level as what they paid to attend the community college. Therefore, it makes UNI tuition accessible and affordable…,” Sapp said.

According to Sapp, 231 students currently participate in the partnership, many of whom have qualified for the Future Ready scholarship.

In the future, they hope to expand the program tremendously. 

“Currently, we only offer seven majors through the UNI and IACC partnership. We hope to add more majors and programs in the future,” Sapp said.