1. The state board shall develop standards and rules for the accreditation of community college programs. Except as provided in this subsection and subsection 4, standards developed shall be general in nature so as to apply to more than one specific program of instruction. With regard to community college-employed instructors, the standards adopted shall at a minimum require that community college instructors meet the following requirements:

 a. (1) Instructors in the subject area of career and technical education shall be registered, certified, or licensed in the occupational area in which the state requires registration, certification, or licensure, and shall hold the appropriate registration, certificate, or license for the occupational area in which the instructor is teaching, and shall meet at least one of the following qualifications:

 (a) Possess a baccalaureate or graduate degree in the area or a related area of study or occupational area in which the instructor teaches classes, or possess a baccalaureate degree in any area of study if at least eighteen of the credit hours completed were in the career and technical field of instruction in which the instructor teaches classes.
 (b) Possess an associate degree in the career and technical education field of instruction in which the instructor is teaching, if such degree is considered terminal for that field of instruction, and have at least three thousand hours of recent and relevant work experience in the occupational area or related occupational area in which the instructor teaches classes.
 (c) Have special training and at least six thousand hours of recent and relevant work experience in the occupational area or related occupational area in which the instructor teaches classes if the instructor possesses less than a baccalaureate degree in the area or related area of study or occupational area in which the instructor is teaching classes and the instructor does not meet the requirements of subparagraph (2).
 (2) For purposes of subparagraph (1), subparagraph divisions (b) and (c), if the instructor is a licensed practitioner who holds a career and technical endorsement under chapter 272, relevant work experience in the occupational area includes but is not limited to classroom instruction in a career and technical education subject area offered by a school district or accredited nonpublic school.
 b. Instructors in the subject area of arts and sciences shall meet either of the following qualifications:

 (1) Possess a master’s degree from an accredited graduate school, and has successfully completed a minimum of twelve credit hours of graduate level courses in each field of instruction in which the instructor is teaching classes. For purposes of this subparagraph, “accredited” means that a graduate school meets the standards established by an accrediting agency recognized under 34 C.F.R. pt. 602 and by Tit. IV of the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 110-315.
 (2) Have two or more years of successful experience in a professional field or area in which the instructor is teaching classes and in which postbaccalaureate recognition or professional licensure is necessary for practice, including but not limited to the fields or areas of accounting, engineering, law, law enforcement, and medicine.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 260C.48

  • Community college: means a publicly supported school which may offer programs of adult and continuing education, lifelong learning, community education, and up to two years of liberal arts, preprofessional, or occupational instruction partially fulfilling the requirements for a baccalaureate degree but confers no more than an associate degree; or which offers as the whole or as part of the curriculum up to two years of career and technical education, training, or retraining to persons who are preparing to enter the labor market. See Iowa Code 260C.2
  • Degree: means a postsecondary credential conferring on the recipient the title of associate, bachelor, master, or doctor, or an equivalent title, signifying educational attainment based on study which may be supplemented by experience or achievement testing. See Iowa Code 261B.2
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Institution: means a community college organized under this chapter. See Iowa Code 260C.56
  • School: means an agency of the state or political subdivision of the state, individual, partnership, company, firm, society, trust, association, corporation, or any combination which meets any of the following criteria:
     a. See Iowa Code 261B.2
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State board: means the state board of education. See Iowa Code 260C.2
 2. Standards developed shall include a provision that the full-time teaching load for an instructor in arts and sciences courses shall be fifteen credit hours per semester, or the equivalent, and the maximum academic workload shall be sixteen credit hours per semester, or the equivalent. An instructor may also have an additional teaching assignment if the instructor and the community college administration mutually consent to the additional assignment and the total teaching load does not exceed twenty-two hours of credit per semester, or the equivalent.
 3. Standards developed shall include provisions requiring equal access in recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities for students with special education needs. The provisions shall include a requirement that students with special education needs shall receive instruction in the least restrictive environment with access to the full range of program offerings at a college, through, but not limited to, adaptation of curriculum, instruction, equipment, facilities, career guidance, and counseling services.
 4. Standards relating to quality assurance of faculty and ongoing quality professional development shall be the accreditation standards of similar accredited institutions of higher education that are consistent with the standards established pursuant to this section and the faculty standards required under specific programs offered by the community college that are accredited by other accrediting agencies. For purposes of this subsection, “accredited” means that an institution of higher education meets the standards established by an accrediting agency recognized under 34 C.F.R. pt. 602 and by Tit. IV of the federal Higher Education Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 110-315.
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