Local College Access Network (LCAN)

The goal of Local College Access Networks (LCANs) is to increase postsecondary education rates and create a college-going culture with the primary focus on minority and first-generation students. This is in line with the Future Ready Iowa initiative that 70% of Iowans will have an education beyond high school by 2025.

To do this Local College Access Networks use the Collective Impact framework — bringing together leaders from all sectors of the community to increase college access, enrollment, and completion to meet workforce demands. These leaders assess the community’s resources and needs to create a common agenda. They use a shared measurement system that will provide a data-informed understanding of the community’s strengths and weaknesses and allow for the community to measure its progress over time.

Our philosophy is no one organization or institution can single-handedly boost a community’s postsecondary educational attainment rate. The issue is complex and multi-faceted and requires a coordinated collaborative approach. However, when multiple institutions rally around a common agenda, the likelihood of increasing college access and success outcomes is significant. `

Our strategies to do this are to:

• Eliminate the equity gap for minority and low-income students.
• Build awareness of career opportunities: job shadows, internships, and business connections.
• Raise the percentage of students who intend to pursue college degrees or credentials.
• Increase FAFSA completion.
• Offer training opportunities for adults to address unemployment and underemployment.
• Make the Local College Access Network sustainable through trust and long-term relationships among partners.

Black Hawk County Local College Access Network

Hawkeye Community College serves as the fiscal agent for the Local College Access Network Coordinator funding. The Local College Access Network Coordinator’s role is to remain neutral and coordinate the work of the Local College Access Networks.

The Black Hawk County Local College Access Networks consists of community partners who will be identified once memorandums of understanding (MOU) are signed over time.

Local College Access Network Communities

The Iowa Department of Education offers grants and technical assistance to Local College Access Network communities to build a network across the state to increase college attainment. Local College Access Networks currently exist in 13 areas across the state.

Shared Measurement Data Dashboard [pdf]