Iowa Code § 260C.14 - Authority of directors

The board of directors of each community college shall: 1. Determine the curriculum to be offered in such school or college subject to approval of the director and ensure that all career and technical education offerings are competency-based, provide any minimum competencies required by the department of education, comply with any applicable requirements in chapter 256, subchapter VII, part 2, and are articulated with local school district career and technical education programs. If an existing private educational institution or an existing vocational institution offering a career and technical education program within the merged area has facilities and curriculum of adequate size and quality which would duplicate the functions of the area school, the board of directors shall discuss with the institution the possibility of entering into contracts to have the existing institution offer facilities and curriculum to students of the merged area. The board of directors shall consider any proposals submitted by the private institution for providing such facilities and curriculum. The board of directors may enter into such contracts. In approving curriculum, the director shall ascertain that all courses and programs submitted for approval are needed and that the curriculum being offered by an area school does not duplicate programs provided by existing public or private facilities in the area. In determining whether duplication would actually exist, the director shall consider the needs of the area and consider whether the proposed programs are competitive as to size, quality, tuition, purposes, and area coverage with existing public and private educational or vocational institutions within the merged area. If the board of directors of the merged area chooses not to enter into contracts with private institutions under this subsection, the board shall submit a list of reasons why contracts to avoid duplication were not entered into and an economic impact statement relating to the board’s decision. 2. Have authority to determine tuition rates for instruction. Tuition for residents of Iowa shall not exceed the lowest tuition rate per semester, or the equivalent, charged by an institution of higher education under the state board of regents for a full-time resident student. However, except for students enrolled under section 261E.6, if a local school district pays tuition for a resident pupil of high school age, the limitation on tuition for residents of Iowa shall not apply, the amount of tuition shall be determined by the board of directors of the community college with the consent of the local school board, and the pupil shall not be included in the full-time equivalent enrollment of the community college for the purpose of computing general aid to the community college. Tuition for nonresidents of Iowa shall not be less than the marginal cost of instruction of a student attending the college. A lower tuition for nonresidents may be permitted under a reciprocal tuition agreement between a merged area and an educational institution in another state, if the agreement is approved by the director. The board may designate that a portion of the tuition moneys collected from students be used for student aid purposes. 3. Have the powers and duties with respect to community colleges, not otherwise provided in this chapter, which are prescribed for boards of directors of local school districts by chapter 279 except that the board of directors is not required to prohibit the use of tobacco and the use or possession of alcoholic liquor or beer by any student of legal age under the provisions of section 279.9. 4. Have the power to enter into contracts and take other necessary action to insure a sufficient curriculum and efficient operation and management of the college and maintain and protect the physical plant, equipment, and other property of the college. 5. Establish policy and make rules, not inconsistent with law and administrative rules, regulations, and policies of the state board, for its own government and that of the administrative, teaching, and other personnel, and the students of the college, and aid in the enforcement of such laws, rules, and regulations. 6. Have authority to sell a student-constructed building and the property on which the student-constructed building is located or any article resulting from any career and technical education program or course offered at a community college by any procedure which may be adopted by the board. Governmental agencies and governmental subdivisions of the state within the merged areas shall be given preference in the purchase of such articles. All revenue received from the sale of any article shall be credited to the funds of the board of the merged area. 7. With the consent of the inventor, and in the discretion of the board, secure letters patent or copyright on inventions of students, instructors, and officials of any community college of the merged area, or take assignment of such letters patent or copyright and make all necessary expenditures in regard thereto. Letters patent or copyright on inventions when so secured shall be the property of the board of the merged area and the royalties and earnings thereon shall be credited to the funds of the board. 8. Set the salary of the area superintendent. In setting the salary, the board shall consider the salaries of administrators of educational institutions in the merged area and the enrollment of the community college. 9. a. The board may establish a plan, in accordance with section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as defined in section 422.3, for employees, which plan shall consist of one or more investment contracts, on a group or individual basis, acquired from a company, or a salesperson for that company, that is authorized to do business in this state. b. The selection of investment contracts to be included within the plan established by the board shall be made either pursuant to a competitive bidding process conducted by the board, in coordination with employee organizations representing employees eligible to participate in the plan, or pursuant to an agreement with the department of administrative services to make available investment contracts included in a deferred compensation or similar plan established by the department pursuant to section 8A.438, which plan meets the requirements of this subsection. The determination of whether to select investment contracts for the plan pursuant to a competitive bidding process or by agreement with the department of administrative services shall be made by agreement between the board and the employee organizations representing employees eligible to participate in the plan. c. The board may make elective deferrals in accordance with the plan as authorized by an eligible employee for the purpose of making contributions to an investment contract in the plan on behalf of the employee. The deferrals shall be made in the manner which will qualify contributions to the investment contract for the benefits under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as defined in section 422.3. In addition, the board may make nonelective employer contributions to the plan. d. As used in this subsection, unless the context otherwise requires, “investment contract” shall mean a custodial account utilizing mutual funds or an annuity contract which meets the requirements of section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, as defined in section 422.3. 10. Make necessary rules to provide for the policing, control, and regulation of traffic and parking of vehicles and bicycles on the property of the community college. a. The rules may provide for the use of institutional roads, driveways, and grounds; registration of vehicles and bicycles; the designation of parking areas; the erection and maintenance of signs designating prohibitions or restrictions; the installation and maintenance of parking control devices except parking meters; and assessment, enforcement, and collection of reasonable penalties for the violation of the rules. b. Rules made under this subsection may be enforced under procedures adopted by the board of directors. Penalties may be imposed upon students, faculty, and staff for violation of the rules, including but not limited to a reasonable monetary penalty which may be deducted from student deposits and faculty or staff salaries or other funds in possession of the community college or added to student tuition bills. The rules made under this subsection may also be enforced by the impoundment of vehicles and bicycles parked in violation of the rules, and a reasonable fee may be charged for the cost of impoundment and storage prior to the release of the vehicle or bicycle to the owner. Each community college shall establish procedures for the determination of controversies in connection with the imposition of penalties. The procedures shall require giving notice of the violation and the penalty prescribed and providing the opportunity for an administrative hearing. 11. Be authorized to issue to employees of community colleges school credit cards to use for payment of authorized expenditures incurred in the performance of work-related duties. 12. During the second week of August of each year, publish by one insertion in at least one newspaper published in the merged area a summarized statement verified by affidavit of the secretary of the board showing the receipts and disbursements of all funds of the community college for the preceding fiscal year. The statement of disbursements shall show the names of the persons, firms, or corporations, and the total amount paid to each during the fiscal year. The board is not required to make the publications and notices required under sections 279.35 and 279.36. 13. Adopt policies and procedures for the use of telecommunications as an instructional tool at the community college. The policies and procedures shall include but not be limited to policies and procedures relating to programs, educational policy, practices, staff development, use of pilot projects, and the instructional application of the technology. 14. a. In its discretion, adopt rules relating to the classification of students enrolled in the community college who are residents of Iowa’s sister states as residents or nonresidents for tuition and fee purposes. b. (1) Adopt rules to classify as residents for purposes of tuition and mandatory fees, qualified veterans and qualified military persons and their spouses and dependent children who are domiciled in this state while enrolled in a community college. A spouse or dependent child of a military person or veteran shall not be deemed a resident under this paragraph “b” unless the qualified military person or qualified veteran meets the requirements of subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (b) or (c), as appropriate. (2) For purposes of this paragraph “b”, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) “Dependent child” means a student who was claimed by a qualified military person or qualified veteran as a dependent on the qualified military person’s or qualified veteran’s internal revenue service tax filing for the previous tax year. (b) “Qualified military person” means a person on active duty in the military service of the United States who is stationed in this state or at the Rock Island arsenal. If the qualified military person is transferred, deployed, or restationed while the person’s spouse or dependent child is enrolled in the community college, the spouse or dependent child shall continue to be classified as a resident provided the spouse or dependent child maintains continuous enrollment. (c) “Qualified veteran” means a person who meets the following requirements: (i) Is eligible for benefits, or has exhausted the benefits, under the federal Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. (ii) Is domiciled in this state, or has resided in this state for at least one year or sufficient time to have filed an Iowa tax return in the preceding twelve months. 15. By July 1, 1991, develop a policy which requires oral communication competence of persons who provide instruction to students attending institutions under the control of the board. The policy shall include a student evaluation mechanism which requires student evaluation of persons providing instruction on at least an annual basis. 16. By July 1, 1991, develop a policy relating to the teaching proficiency of teaching assistants which provides a teaching proficiency standard, instructional assistance to, and evaluation of persons who provide instruction to students at the higher education institutions under the control of the board. 17. a. Provide for eligible alternative retirement benefits systems which shall be limited to the following: (1) An alternative retirement benefits system which is issued by or through a nonprofit corporation issuing retirement annuities exclusively to educational institutions and their employees for persons newly employed after July 1, 1990, and for persons employed by the community college who are members of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system on July 1, 1994, and who elect coverage under that system pursuant to section 97B.42, in lieu of coverage under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. (2) An alternative retirement benefits system which is issued by or through an insurance company authorized to issue annuity contracts in this state, for persons newly employed on or after July 1, 1997, who are already members of the alternative retirement benefits system and who elect coverage under that system pursuant to section 97B.42, in lieu of coverage under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. (3) An alternative retirement benefits system offered through the community college, at the discretion of the board of directors of the community college, pursuant to this subparagraph which is issued by or through an insurance company authorized to issue annuity contracts in this state, for persons newly employed by that community college on or after July 1, 1998, who are not members of the alternative retirement benefits system and who elect coverage under that system pursuant to section 97B.42, in lieu of coverage under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. The board of directors of a community college may limit the number of providers of alternative retirement benefits systems offered pursuant to this subparagraph to no more than six. The selection by the board of directors of a community college of a provider of an alternative retirement benefits system pursuant to this subparagraph shall not constitute an endorsement of that provider by the community college. b. However, the employer’s annual contribution in dollars under an eligible alternative retirement benefits system described in this subsection shall not exceed the annual contribution in dollars which the employer would contribute if the employee had elected to remain an active member pursuant to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system, as set forth in section 97B.11. c. For purposes of this subsection, “alternative retirement benefits system” means an employer-sponsored primary pension plan requiring mandatory employer contributions that meets the requirements of section 401(a), 403(a), or 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. 18. Develop and implement a written policy, which is disseminated during student registration or orientation, addressing the following four areas relating to sexual abuse: a. Counseling. b. Campus security. c. Education, including prevention, protection, and the rights and duties of students and employees of the community college. d. Facilitating the accurate and prompt reporting of sexual abuse to the duly constituted law enforcement authorities. 19. Provide, within a reasonable time, information as requested by the departments of management and education. 20. Adopt a policy to offer not less than the following options to a student who is a member, or the spouse of a member if the member has a dependent child as defined in subsection 14, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (a), of the Iowa national guard or reserve forces of the United States and who is ordered to national guard duty or federal active duty: a. Withdraw from the student’s entire registration and receive a full refund of tuition and mandatory fees. b. Make arrangements with the student’s instructors for course grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the student’s registration shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for the courses in full. c. Make arrangements with only some of the student’s instructors for course grades, or for incompletes that shall be completed by the student at a later date. If such arrangements are made, the registration for those courses shall remain intact and tuition and mandatory fees shall be assessed for those courses. Any course for which arrangements cannot be made for grades or incompletes shall be considered dropped and the tuition and mandatory fees for the course refunded. 21. a. Annually, by October 1, submit to the department of education through the management information system, at a minimum, in the manner prescribed by the department the following information for the previous fiscal year: (1) Total revenue received from each local school district as a result of high school students enrolled in community college courses under the postsecondary enrollment options program. (2) Total revenue received from each local school district as a result of high school students enrolled in community college courses through shared supplementary weighting plans. (3) Unduplicated headcount of high school students enrolled in community college courses under the postsecondary enrollment options program. (4) Unduplicated headcount of high school students enrolled in community college courses through shared supplementary weighting plans. (5) Total credits earned by high school students enrolled in community college courses under the postsecondary enrollment options program, broken down by career and technical education program and arts and sciences program. (6) Number of courses in which high school students are enrolled under shared supplementary weighting plans and the portions of those courses that are taught by an instructor who is employed by the local school district for a portion of the school day. (7) The contracted salary and benefits for the trustees of the community college. (8) The contracted salary and benefits and any other expenses related to support for governmental affairs efforts, including expenditures for lobbyists and lobbying activities for the community college. (9) The contracted salaries, including but not limited to bonus wages and benefits, including but not limited to annuity payments or any other benefit covered using state funds of any kind for administrators of the community college. b. The department of education shall define the annual supplemental financial reporting required of all community colleges regarding revenues received through the delivery of college credit courses to high school students. The board of directors of each community college shall incorporate into their student management information systems the unique student identifier used by school districts as provided by the department of education to school districts. c. The department shall incorporate the data submitted in paragraph “a” into the annual condition of community colleges report described in section 256.7, subsection 23, paragraph “c”. 22. Enter into a collective statewide articulation agreement with the state board of regents pursuant to section 262.9, subsection 31, which shall provide for the seamless transfer of academic credits from a completed associate of arts or associate of science degree program offered by a community college to a baccalaureate degree program offered by an institution of higher education governed by the state board of regents. The board shall also do the following: a. Identify a transfer and articulation contact office or person, publicize transfer and articulation information and the contact office or person, and submit the contact information to the state board of regents, which shall publish the contact information on its articulation internet site. b. Collaborate with the state board of regents to meet the requirements specified in section 262.9, subsection 31, including but not limited to developing a systematic process for expanding academic discipline and meetings between the community college faculty and faculty of the institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents, developing criteria to prioritize core curriculum areas, promoting greater awareness of articulation-related activities, facilitating additional opportunities for individual institutions to pursue program articulation agreements for career and technical educational programs, and developing and implementing a process to examine a minimum of eight new associate of applied science degree programs for which articulation agreements would serve students’ continued academic success in those degree programs. 23. Develop and implement a consistent written policy for an employee who in the scope of the person’s employment responsibilities examines, attends, counsels, or treats a child to report suspected physical or sexual abuse. The policy shall include an employee’s reporting responsibilities. The reporting responsibilities shall designate the time, circumstances, and method for reporting suspected child abuse to the community college’s administration and reporting to law enforcement. Nothing in the policy shall prohibit an employee from reporting suspected child abuse in good faith to law enforcement. 24. a. Beginning December 15, 2015, annually file a report with the governor and the general assembly providing information and statistics for the previous five academic years on the number of students who are veterans per year who received education credit for military education, training, and service, that number as a percentage of veterans known to be enrolled at the college, the average number of credits received by students, and the average number of credits applied towards the award of a certificate, competency-based credential, postsecondary diploma, or associate degree. b. For purposes of this subsection, “veteran” means a veteran as defined in section 35.1 or a member of the reserve forces of the United States or the national guard as defined in section 29A.1 who has served at least one year of the member’s commitment and is eligible for or has exhausted federal veterans education benefits under 38 U.S.C. ch. 30, 32, 33, or 36 or 10 U.S.C. ch. 1606 or 1607, respectively. 25. Publish on the community college’s internet site a link to the Iowa student outcomes internet site maintained by the department of education. 26. Adopt rules that require the community college to include in any communication to students that is related to immunization requirements information regarding exemptions to such requirements. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §280A.23] 84 Acts, ch 1315, §36; 86 Acts, ch 1213, §6; 86 Acts, ch 1246, §134; 87 Acts, ch 207, §7; 87 Acts, ch 233, §478; 88 Acts, ch 1284, §47; 89 Acts, ch 278, §6; 90 Acts, ch 1240, §46; 90 Acts, ch 1253, §35; 92 Acts, ch 1106, §3, 4 C93, §260C.23 93 Acts, ch 82, §3; 94 Acts, ch 1183, §60, 61 C95, §260C.14 96 Acts, ch 1215, §26; 97 Acts, ch 14, §2, 3; 98 Acts, ch 1077, §2, 3; 2001 Acts, ch 39, §1; 2002 Acts, ch 1140, §14; 2003 Acts, ch 108, §46; 2003 Acts, ch 179, §112; 2004 Acts, ch 1086, §54; 2006 Acts, ch 1152, §8, 30 ; 2006 Acts, ch 1180, §17, 24 ; 2008 Acts, ch 1171, §63, 68; 2008 Acts, ch 1181, §50; 2009 Acts, ch 54, §7; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §101; 2009 Acts, ch 158, §1; 2009 Acts, ch 168, §2; 2009 Acts, ch 177, §21, 22; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §90; 2010 Acts, ch 1169, §1 – 3; 2012 Acts, ch 1040, §3; 2012 Acts, ch 1072, §34; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §257; 2014 Acts, ch 1116, §30; 2015 Acts, ch 8, §1; 2016 Acts, ch 1108, §52, 53; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §2532; 2024 Acts, ch 1124, §2; 2025 Acts, ch 106, §7; 2025 Acts, ch 145, §2 Referred to in §15.108, 97B.42, 256.183, 260C.18, 261E.8 Subsection 21, paragraph c amended NEW subsection 26