Formerly PAETEC, the building will soon house the Linn County Resource Center
The new Linn County Regional Center will open its doors this fall
When Kirkwood Community College purchased the PAETEC building at the end of 2011, the school took the first of many steps toward a smarter, more efficient way to educate. Now Kirkwood is nearing the final steps of that process.
This fall the college will be consolidating the Marion and Resource center operations into one location in the north Linn County area.
By merging the centers into the 97,000-plus square foot Linn County Regional Center, the college can offer state-of-the-art technical labs, onsite student services, and expanded curriculum to all students, ranging from high schoolers to traditional college students to adults.
In addition, the new regional center is conveniently located along Boyson Road in Hiawatha, right off of I-380 and on the bus route. The location will make it easier to serve more eastern Iowans who are looking to take advantage of the benefits of an education with multiple career and transfer options.
“What we’re looking to do is provide a wider range of opportunity for our students,” said Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich. “We’re offering more space, better technology and a greater number of support staff all under one roof in a convenient location. All of that will add up to a better environment to promote the success of the students and community we serve.”
Kirkwood’s accelerated classes for working adults, currently offered at the Resource Center, will transfer to the new regional center, along with the Community Colleges for International Development (CCID) office and the Workplace Learning Connection.
Plus, more area high school students can take advantage of Kirkwood’s concurrent enrollment programs at the Linn Regional Center.
Last year alone, families in Linn County saved more then $960,000 in college tuition by utilizing free college credit classes offered to high school students. Several concurrent enrollment programs lead to industry-recognized certifications, meaning students can graduate high school with a collection of free, transferable college credit and a certificate in a trade.
“Knowing when to make innovative, impactful decisions like this is the key to providing the greatest possible advantage to our students and the seven-county area which we support,” said Starcevich. “Forward-thinking reaction to changing needs is something we strive for as the community’s college.”
Classes at the Linn County Regional Center begin in the fall of 2013.