Photo Courtesy of St. Ambrose University: Photo of Dr. Amy Novak, SAU President.
The following is a statement in its entirety provided by SAU President Amy Novak on a new Iowa House Bill proposing some Iowa community colleges could offer four-year degrees under certain conditions. The bill as amended does not affect SAU as EICC is located within 50 miles of the university. Also, for more on the issue, read about one SAU transfer student’s reaction to the proposed legislation.
Across Iowa, our strongest workforce solutions are built not through duplication, but through collaboration. One of the most effective examples of this is the longstanding partnership between community colleges and four-year institutions like St. Ambrose University.
Over the past year alone, more than 190 new students enrolled at St. Ambrose University through the community college transfer pipeline, many coming directly from Eastern Iowa Community College. Today, St. Ambrose enrolls more than 500 transfer students, and more than 1,100 current students have previously transferred credits from a community college. These pathways are not only learner-centered, but they are also cost-efficient. By ensuring that credits transfer seamlessly, students reduce time to degree, lower overall educational costs, and make effective use of both public and private investments in higher education. These students represent exactly what Iowa needs: place-bound learners, working adults, first-generation college students, and future professionals who want to stay in their communities and contribute to the local workforce.
While traditional transfer agreements that ensure community college credits apply fully toward a bachelor’s degree are crucial, our current collaborations extend well beyond this friendly transfer of credit policy.
In our hybrid and online rural nursing program, for example, St. Ambrose University and Eastern Iowa Community College have developed an innovative arrangement that allows nursing students to complete several required courses through EICC in an online format. Upon completion, students enroll in the LPN to-BSN degree completion program at St. Ambrose, enabling them to earn a bachelor’s degree. This approach allows students to remain in their home communities and local jobs while progressing efficiently toward a four-year degree. It is a practical, student-centered solution that meets learners where they are and responds directly to Iowa’s workforce needs, particularly in rural areas.
In another case, the St. Ambrose partnership with Mount Mercy University enables students who have completed a two-year pre-education degree at Southeastern Community College to complete a bachelor’s degree in education using a combination of online and in-person delivery in under 18 months. St. Ambrose has also partnered directly with business and industry to develop specialized credentials delivered in online or hybrid formats for upskilling in manufacturing, project management, information technology, and leadership.
These partnerships succeed because they respect the distinct missions of two-year and four-year institutions and because they increasingly include employers as essential partners. Iowa provides significant tax incentives to businesses to drive economic growth. We should continue working closely with those same businesses to ensure their employees are incentivized and supported to complete coursework that strengthens Iowa’s workforce.
Community colleges excel at access, certificates, and associate degrees. Four-year institutions specialize in baccalaureate and graduate education, professional formation, and long-term workforce development. Together, we form a coherent, efficient pipeline that serves students, employers, and communities alike.
Pending Iowa legislation risk disrupting this successful model.
The first, HSB 533, would allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees. While well-intentioned, this proposal would duplicate existing programs, blur institutional missions, and introduce taxpayer-subsidized competition into a space currently served by private and public four-year colleges and universities. It would
also require substantial new public investment to launch and sustain four-year programs, particularly in high-cost, licensure-based fields such as nursing and teacher education, where clinical placements, accreditation, faculty credentials, and regulatory oversight significantly increase costs. Rather than strengthening pathways, this approach risks fragmenting them by diverting limited public resources away from collaboration and toward unnecessary replication.
Employer tuition assistance, flexible scheduling, paid learning time, employer-aligned credentials, and clear advancement pathways are proven strategies. Expanding these efforts will do far more to increase participation and completion than duplicating degree programs, while ensuring that education and workforce
investments are aligned with real labor market needs.
Community colleges and four-year institutions are at their best when they work together by aligning curricula, sharing innovation, and building seamless pathways that keep talent in Iowa. St. Ambrose is one of 24 private colleges that have built strong articulation agreements with community colleges across the state. Moreover, we offer scholarships that ensure net pricing is at or below the cost of Iowa’s four-year public institutions.
St. Ambrose University remains deeply committed to being a collaborative partner to community colleges, employers, and the communities we jointly serve. Iowa’s future depends on honoring institutional strengths, and fostering cooperation rather than competition at taxpayer expense.
The path forward is clear. Let’s protect what works and continue building an Iowa higher education ecosystem that is innovative, collaborative, and centered on students, employers, and communities.
