DMACC Receives Reaccreditation from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships

DMACC has received reaccreditation from the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), reaffirming the college's commitment to providing high-quality college courses to high school students.

"This recognition marks an important milestone and reflects the incredible growth, dedication, and collaboration of our team, spanning many departments and campuses and partner schools over the years," said Karen Swanson, DMACC's Director of Work-Based Learning & Career Advantage, who helped coordinate the reaccreditation process.

The reaccreditation means that high school students within the DMACC district will continue to have the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. Thousands of high school students take advatange of these program offerings each year. In fact, DMACC's Career Advantage concurrent enrollment program is among the largest in the country, ranking fifth nationwide. A total of 18,939 high school students took DMACC classes in 2024, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

"College credits give these high school students a jump start on their academic and career goals, while saving money on college courses," said Michael Lentsch, DMACC's Career Advantage Student Affairs Director. "High school students can enroll and complete Career Advantage classes either at their home high school, at DMACC, or online."

Lentsch noted that Career Advantage programming continues to grow every year as more and more students are interested in taking college level coursework while in high school.

"We have seen the number of Career Advantage students continue to climb every year. Online coursework is the fastest growing by far. We also have a 93 percent success rate for Career Advantage which indicates that these students are well prepared, highlight motivated, and well-supported," Lentsch said. "NACEP works to ensre that college courses offered in high schools are as rigorous as courses offered on the college campuses."

Jeff Grassmeyer, Principal of Ankeny Centennial High School, also praised the partnership.

"We are extremely lucky at Ankeny Centennial to have such a strong and collaborative relationship with DMACC," Grassmeyer said. "The majority of our student population is engaged in student coursework in some form or fashion, and this leaves our students better prepared for post-secondary success when they leave CHS. As we work to continue to expand our academic programming to best meet the needs of our students and the evolving nature of work, we look forward to continuing to work as partners with DMACC well into the future."

The Iowa Department of Education has required all community colleges to be NACEP certified in order to run concurrent enrollment programming with local school districts.

DMACC was the first community college in Iowa to be accredited, and is required to complete the reaccreditation process every seven years.

"We went through a thorough, rigorous application and evaluation process and were required to show how we meet 16 standards across six categories: partnerships, curriculum, faculty, students, assessment, and program evaluation," said Alyssa Ploeger, Coordinator for Career Advantage and the new NACEP program lead.

Ploeger added the DMACC program focuses on the following key areas to support students and school partners:

• Eligibility: Students must meet required proficiency measures before enrollment.
• Quality Instruction: All instructors meet DMACC credentialing requirements and engage in ongoing professional development.
• Support: Dedicated program coordinators are available to assist students throughout their academic journey.

DMACC's Career Advantage team works closely with community college staff and local school districts, including administrators, advisors, faculty liaisons, teachers, and counselors, to ensure students have the best opportunity for success.

"Ultimately, it begins with the student's commitment to starting college early, supported by a strong network of educators and mentors," said Lentsch.