(Des Moines, IA) -- A record number of students took online community college courses in 2020. The Iowa Department of Educations online course enrollment was up eleven percent, at 69.614. Enrollment in non-credit, online classes was also up last year.
The figures are part the Iowa Department of Education's annual report. Last year more than 127-thousand students enrolled in community colleges, which down slightly from the previous year.
Highlights from the report are from the 2019-20 school year unless otherwise noted:
51,800:The number of students who enrolled in college courses while in high school (known as joint enrollment), up 2.4 percent from 50,587 the year before. Jointly enrolled high school students account for 40.8 percent of total community college enrollees and 25.6 percent of total credit hours.
23.7%:The percent of community college enrollment from racial and ethnic minority groups, which represents a record high.
37.9%:The percent of all Career and Technical Education awards granted that are in a Health Science program of study.
16,413:The number of credit awards earned (associate degrees, certificates and diplomas), down 5.5 percent from 17,377 the previous year.
35,540:The number of noncredit program awards, down from 43,538 the year before. The majority of these awards (76.8 percent) were industry-awarded credentials designed to lead to or enhance employment opportunities.
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