Des Moines Register
07-24-07
State schools get more community college grads
By LISA ROSSI
REGISTER AMES BUREAU
A new Iowa State University study shows that Iowa public universities do a better
job of enrolling community college graduates than private colleges.
ISU Associate Professor Frankie Santos Laanan’s study shows that between
2003 and 2005, Iowa regent universities enrolled more than half of the students
who earned an associate in arts degree from Iowa community colleges, while
Iowa private institutions enrolled slightly less than a third of Iowa community
transfer students during that time.
Laanan, in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at ISU,
will share results of this study, and another study that records earnings of
community college graduates, at the Thursday meeting of the Iowa State Board
of Education in Des Moines.
The earnings study showed that of about 100,000 Iowa community college
students, those who received a degree, certificate or diploma gained nearly
$3,000 more in annual earnings than those who didn’t receive those accolades.