(Des Moines) A representative of the Iowa Board of Regents told lawmakers Wednesday that the board is ready and willing to conduct the review of academic programs that would be required under a new bill.
Labeled in the bill as the “Workforce First Act,” House Study Bill 50 would have the board look at all undergraduate and graduate academic programs at all three state universities and determine how, if at all, they align with Iowa’s workforce needs. The board must complete the review, with the aid of Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Department of Education, by its November meeting.
The report must be submitted to Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Legislature by Nov. 30, and must include recommendations to keep the same, change or eliminate each program under review.
Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, chaired the subcommittee alongside Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights and Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull. The bill passed out of subcommittee and will head to the full Higher Education Committee for further consideration.
Carolann Jensen, Iowa Board of Regents state relations officer representing Iowa State University, said the board has the ability to do this review and will do so at the Legislature’s request. The board periodically reviews academic programs in order to “anticipate” future needs of Iowa students and the businesses and communities they will go to after graduation, she said.
One amendment she suggested was to remove the language getting Iowa Workforce Development and the Iowa Department of Education involved, as she said the board likes to review its own programs.
Those opposed to the bill focused on how it could limit the ability of higher education institutes to teach students skills that, while not applying directly or clearly to a career, are useful and necessary. One public citizen who spoke during the meeting said there are plenty of programs at universities that can and do help Iowa’s workforce, they just might not look like it on the surface.
One Iowa Director of Policy and Advocacy Keenan Crow said during public comments that universities are not just job training organizations, but institutions dedicated to teaching students how to think, adapt and apply skills they’ve learned to a variety of situations. Something that is especially important when technology and industries change, often forcing people into new situations.
“Higher education institutions are at their best when they teach students to think critically and adapt, not teach them exactly what to think,” Crow said. “I’m worried that the focus exclusively on workforce needs is going to miss a lot of useful courses which may not provide direct job skills but may allow students to think in different and useful ways.”
(Photo: A bill requiring the Iowa Board of Regents to review all academic programs at state universities has passed through subcommittee.) (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
