Kirkwood Community College President Dr. Lori Sundberg recently announced the closing of the Iowa City Campus.
Starting in the Fall of 2023, the campus will relocate to the Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa in Coralville.
In an e-mail to students, Sundberg stated, “The college came to this decision after a great deal of consideration. A consultant was hired by the college who studied relevant data and talked with students, faculty, staff and community members and made recommendations for how the college could best serve the people of Johnson County. Through the findings of that study, as well as additional research done by Kirkwood, the college has decided to move classes and most operations from the current Iowa City center to our building in Coralville.”
According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, the campus opened in 1991 and enrollment levels have dropped more than 70% within the past decade. Although the campus does not offer every class, many area students who wish to transfer to the University of Iowa are able to commute to both the Kirkwood and U of I campuses within a reasonable distance.
A few students currently enrolled at the Iowa City campus expressed concern over the college’s decision. First-year marketing student Caitlin Montgomery stated, “I will miss having the campus in Iowa City because I live there. I also wish the college would have notified us at the beginning of the school year if they were planning this beforehand.”
Another Iowa City campus student, first-year business management major Clare Przybylski agreed. “I think it’s a great college to transfer to the University of Iowa after, it makes it tough on students who have already signed leases in Iowa City though.”
The Regional Center in Coralville, which currently holds academy classes tailored toward high school students, will now offer classes to Iowa City campus students as well.
While the Cedar Rapids campus may be a far commute for many, transporting the Iowa City campus to the Regional Center will draw attention to students living in towns closer to Coralville, rather than commuting to Cedar Rapids.
In her e-mail to students, Sundberg continued, “The Kirkwood Regional Center at the University of Iowa is an impressive facility with plenty of space to meet student needs. Whether your goal is to complete your associate of arts degree, or just take a few select courses, you will find everything you need to meet your goals. Student services including academic advising, financial aid, registration, counseling, food pantry, TRIO programs and testing and academic support services will also be available on site.”
Sundberg concluded that more information would be coming soon with information about what students can expect for the fall.
Liz is a second year Journalism and Mass Communications student who has been Creative Director and News Editor with the Communiqué. She also works at 88.3 KCCK as a Radio News Intern and the Corridor Business Journal as a Reporting Intern. After receiving her associate degree from Kirkwood, she will transfer to the University of Iowa with the 2+2 program. At Iowa, she will continue her journalism passions with the Daily Iowan newspaper and DITV. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, she plans to work as a Multimedia Journalist and Reporter/News Anchor for KCCI in Des Moines or another station in Iowa.
Categories: Campus News, Local News, News
