REPORT RANKS IOWA LAKES ‘TOPS’ AMONG PEER INSTITUTIONS

A report comparing Iowa Lakes Community College with colleges from across the nation puts Iowa Lakes at the top.

The report – called the National Community College Benchmarking Practices report – compares common data about student outcomes as well as data about operational efficiencies.

Iowa Lakes was identified as ‘leading the way’ in 29 best practices.

Student success was a category in which the college excelled. Course success, retention of students and degree completion were all ranked above the 97th percentile.

“These rankings confirm that Iowa Lakes is a high performing college,” said Dr. Harold Prior, President of Iowa Lakes. “Our students tell us they feel they have a good chance for success – and this data affirms that.”

Online learning is among the fastest growing segments at Iowa Lakes.

Iowa Lakes ranked in the 99th percentile for both the percentage of students who completed online courses and those who earned an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ in those courses.

Other categories in which the college ranked well included a high percentage of credit hours and credit sections taught by full-time faculty. Research shows that student success is directly linked to the percentage of full-time faculty teaching at a college.

The data is revealed in the 2007 NCCBP report which is available on the college Web site at www.iowalakes.edu. Go to quick links and select Administration. Then select Planning and Development and click on Institutional Effectiveness.