A bill now in the Iowa Legislature would allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor's degree programs. Private colleges are opposed to the measure, saying such a move amounts to taxpayer-funded competition.
House Study Bill 533 would allow community colleges, typically known for offering two-year associate degrees or certificates, to offer a limited number of four-year degree programs at campuses at least 50 miles away from a public university.
Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President Gary Steinke said community colleges already fill a need in the state, and that private colleges already have the capacity to offer four-year degrees in popular programs.
"Like in education and nursing," said Steinke. "There's no need for it. Competition with state tax-supported institutions and private entities never works out well for the private entity."
Supporters of the measure say offering bachelor's degrees would prompt a huge return of students to community colleges, providing greater access for people who want to earn four-year degrees.
While community colleges say offering four-year degrees would broaden their reach and help them achieve their higher education mission, Steinke argued that threating enrollment at private colleges and universities could decimate the economies of the towns where they're located, often in sparsely populated rural Iowa.
"Private colleges have been around for 170 years," said Steinke. "They are the economic driver in rural Iowa in the communities in which they're located, without question. They pay the highest wages, they have the best insurance – and the economic turnover in these rural communities is second to none. And you lose all that, too."
The bill awaits action on the House floor.