News & Features
MCC is focused on Student Success & Retention
January 9, 2019
By Angie Redmond The issues of student success and retention are something on which all colleges across the United States are focused. The goal of retention is to have students remain enrolled from fall to spring semester and from first year to second year. Retention and student success are campus-wide strategic initiatives at Marshalltown Community…
PACE turns educational dreams into reality
December 18, 2018
By Jennifer Rice Returning to school, whether for your high school equivalency diploma (HSED) or a college degree, presents numerous barriers for many students. Financial concerns – not just how to pay for school, but how to pay all of the everyday bills – can make attending school seem like an impossibility. Then there are…
Orpheum asks for an exchange of commitments
November 29, 2018
By Bob Untiedt Earlier this year, a senior manager at a large company, new to town, mentioned that he and his family came to a movie the Orpheum had offered for free to his child’s elementary school. He said that he was not looking forward to this very much, but his kid really wanted to…
Financing a college education
November 7, 2018
By Dr. Robin Lilienthal For most people a college education is a significant financial commitment. According to a Lumina Foundation report, only 25 percent of American adults believe that college is affordable for all. The Iowa College Aid Commission reports that because of the perception that college is too expensive, many potential students don’t even…
IVCCD’s ongoing commitment to its mission
September 26, 2018
By Dr. Chris Duree Many, if not most, organizations have a mission statement which is intended to make a claim about their passion, purpose, and commitment. More than simply publishing an institution’s mission on documents, websites, or posting on walls and marketing brochures, the statement should become embedded in the culture and backed by multiple…
The Orpheum Theater is part of a sound educational strategy
April 24, 2018
By Bob Untiedt An important part of the Iowa Valley Community College District’s current strategic plan is this core value: Partnerships – We believe in constructing effective alliances to create educational opportunities, strengthen our communities, and foster economic development. Current Orpheum partners include three different daycare centers, every elementary school in town, the YMCA/YWCA, the…
MCC turns language barriers into building blocks
April 13, 2018
By Theresa Orlovsky Most Americans grow up only speaking English, and if they have any experience with a second language, it may be limited to a high school foreign language class. But what if foreign language wasn’t just a school subject, but the medium through which you learned other subjects, such as biology, history, or…
Adult Basic Education improves skills, changes lives
February 21, 2018
By Jon Núñez and Kathy Siebring Have you ever traveled to a foreign country and found it difficult to read and understand menus or street signs? Was it impossible to communicate with the locals? Believe it or not, there are people in our own communities who face this situation every day, and it’s not necessarily…
The Importance of the Iowa Skilled Worker & Job Creation Fund
January 10, 2018
By Cindy Schulte As Iowa moves forward to implement Governor Reynolds’ Future Ready Iowa (FRI) initiative, Iowa’s community colleges stand ready to play a key role. The goal is to prepare 70 percent of Iowa’s workforce with an education or training beyond high school by the year 2025. The FRI recommendations will focus on low-income…
Sector Partnerships + Career Pathways = A Healthy Local Economy
December 19, 2017
By Sandy Supianoski There’s a lot of jargon in education … just like there’s jargon in every industry. Because education is vitally important to nearly every industry (e.g. healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, finance, communications, agriculture and more), I’d like to review some of the current lingo and talk about what it really means for our local…