Senator Jesse Green. Photo courtesy of Iowa Legislature

A bill that cleared the Iowa House would allow community colleges to offer four year degrees.

House File 2649 passed the House last week with a bipartisan vote of 56-36. District 24 Senator Jesse Green says the bill would let community colleges that are located at least 50 miles away from an institution that provides four year degrees the ability to do so through a pilot program. He agrees with that idea because the main concern from private and regent universities and colleges is how this change would impact them financially.

Green details that stats show students who graduate high school tend to move away from their homes to go to college, but this legislation could change that trend.

“If we have some of our community colleges offering these programs, I think that’s good for rural Iowa to keep some of these students back there utilizing their new education and talents, where they grew up. And so, this certainly fits in with my philosophy of school choice and being more localized when it comes to our education options.”  

Green adds that Iowa Central Community College has already reached out to him voicing their support of the bill and were looking for ways to start planning for what that could look like. The legislation is currently in the Senate Education Committee, which Green serves on.