UNI at DMACC partnership

UNI at DMACC partnership

University of Northern Iowa officials traveled to Des Moines Area Community College lastThursday to tour a new $24 million downtown campus that will host the UNI@DMACC program that launched this fall. 

The three-story, 60,000-square-foot-building, which is expected to open in the spring, will be the centerpiece of DMACC’s existing Urban Campus. A first-floor office there will be the new home of UNI@DMACC, a partnership program that allows Des Moines DMACC students to earn a four-year UNI degree. 

“It’s great to partner with DMACC, especially on this project, especially in this location,” UNI President Mark A. Nook told the socially-distanced crowd that gathered before last week’s tour. “It’s the right thing for Iowa.” 

“It’s extremely important for Iowa,” DMACC President Rob Denson told the group. “Our teams have worked together with UNI to create a unique educational experience for Iowa. We're particularly excited that this was the first majority-minority college.”

DMACC's campus is the first in Iowa with a majority of minority students, and the UNI@DMACC program marks the first partnership of this size and scale between a Regent university and community college. Many students at the campus are nontraditional - the average age is 28 - and the new program will be a bridge to a four-year degree. 

The new 2+2 program is specifically designed for students to complete their first two years at DMACC, with the remaining two years completed online through UNI. Degree options include a Bachelor of Liberal Studies (BLS) or Criminal Justice (BAS).