8/16/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Charles Johnson, UNI professor of industrial technology (319) 273-2746

Lori Kayser or JoAnn Morlan, educational advisors, DMACC-Carroll Campus 1-800-622-3334 or (712) 792-1755

Vicki Grimes, University Marketing & Public Relations, UNI, (319) 273-2761

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The presidents of the University of Northern Iowa and Des Moines Area Community College took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Aug. 16, at DMACC's Carroll Campus, to announce a unique agreement between the two schools. The agreement will allow delivery, in Carroll, of a technology management major and a business concepts minor resulting in a bachelor's degree from UNI.

The 10:30 a.m. ceremony at DMACC's Carroll site, 906 N. Grant Rd., included UNI President Robert Koob, DMACC Past President Joseph Borgen and Art Neu, Carroll attorney. Neu, along with Jim Wilson, publisher of the Carroll Times Herald, and James Knott, executive dean of DMACC's Carroll Campus, has been instrumental in development of the program to benefit students in West Central Iowa.

The higher education partnership allows students with associate of arts degrees from DMACC to more easily continue their education and obtain a bachelor's degree from UNI. Unique to this degree is the joining of efforts by UNI's Colleges of Natural Sciences and Business Administration so that students not only earn the technology management major in the Department of Industrial Technology, but also complete the business concepts minor through the CBA.

Administrators from both schools said the agreement moves education toward a "seamless delivery system," and represents another step forward in improving the structural relationships from the K-12 through community college to university education. Both Koob and Borgen spoke of the benefits to their students and their institutions.

Classes in the program could begin as early as the spring of 2002.

"The benefit of this type of degree is that students who are place-bound because of family and job responsibilities can now continue their education locally," said Charles Johnson, UNI professor of industrial technology. He has been instrumental in the development of technology articulation agreements with a number of Iowa's community colleges.

"Those that need a four-year degree in order to advance in their field now have that opportunity," Johnson added. "This program is unique in that it allows technology management majors to combine the business minor and strengthen their preparation for future employment."

Farzad Moussavi, interim dean of the UNI College of Business Administration, said the university has long-viewed the state of Iowa as its campus and places a high priority on cultivating joint relationships with community colleges and other educational institutions. "Careful attention to details and a good deal of compromise are required to come up with a program that satisfies the stringent requirements of the three programs, yet still allows students to complete the 126 hours of course work in a four-year period," he said.

For more information on this new program, contact Lori Kayser or JoAnn Morlan, educational advisors on the DMACC-Carroll Campus, at 1-800-622-3334 or locally, (712) 792-1755; or Charles Johnson, UNI professor of industrial technology, (319) 273-2746.

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