In Iowa, a quicker, cheaper path to a college degree is easy as 2+2, 3+1 or 3+3 – The Gazette
College cooperation is booming to aid workforce recruitment
The typical path to a college degree in Iowa increasingly is branching off, taking detours and merging with others as public universities, community colleges and private schools find more ways to collaborate and cooperate in their degree and transfer options.
Of course, articulation agreements — which help community college students transfer credits to a four-year college or university — are nothing new. But some freshly paved degree paths are, including 3+1 or 3+3 or 2+2 agreements that let students at private, public and community colleges cut their time to a degree — and their expenses — by completing years of a program at one school and the remainder at another.
Some of the newer routes benefit students who want to home in early on a specific program and more narrowly tailor their course load. Others help students expand their resume and portfolios and capitalize on all the credits they’ve earned — regardless of where — at a time of low unemployment in Iowa, where demand is increasing for workers with postsecondary education.