(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced the State of Iowa has been awarded a National Governors Association (NGA) grant to assist in continuing their innovative educational and workforce development programs within Iowa. The grant is worth up to $170,000, and was awarded after the governor's office submitted a proposal to the "NGA Policy Academy on Aligning the Education and Training Pipeline to the Needs of the Economy."

"Lieutenant Governor Reynolds and I know that in order for Iowa to remain competitive in developing and attracting high-quality, world-class careers, we must continue to provide effective education and job-training," said Branstad. "We're pleased to receive this grant from the National Governors Association to continue advancing Iowa's skilled workforce and innovative education programs."

The grant will help Iowa continue to advance innovative programs like the Skilled Iowa Initiative, the Governor's Science Technology, Engineering and Math initiative, Home Base Iowa, the Iowa Apprenticeship and Job Training program and other programs aimed at closing the middle-skills gaps.  A variety of state entities will collaborate with private sector, non-profit, and educational stakeholders to continue to advance Iowa's efforts to grow our talent pipeline.

"Today's announcement of new funds for workforce and education development is yet another win for hardworking Iowans," said Reynolds. "We're proud that Iowa's unemployment rate has dropped nearly thirty percent and more Iowans are working than ever before, but if we're to continue to be globally competitive, we must continue to innovate."

The NGA initiative is part of 2013-2014 Chair's Initiative of Oklahoma Gov. Marry Fallon titled, "America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow's Jobs."

FAYETTE, IA (08/11/2014)(readMedia)-- Upper Iowa University is pleased to welcome the class of 2018 to campus. New students will begin class on August 25.

The 2014-15 academic year is an exciting one for Upper Iowa. The private, not-for-profit university has redesigned its academic offerings across university to better meet student demands and the needs of the job market that graduates will be entering.

UIU Provost Kurt Wood said the deans of each of the four UIU schools assessed enrollments in current majors to determine demand, researched academic programs against benchmarks and best practices, and proposed changes that were then approved by the university's curriculum committees and the Board of Trustees.

"The evaluations done by each of the University's schools were evidence-informed and driven by data," Wood says. "These data show that we offered about 20 percent more majors than our peers. While some 50 major fields of study may be the right number for UIU to offer, the associated costs must be balanced with the value derived by our students. It's not all about the spreadsheet, but today's higher education environment demands that attention be paid to the bottom line. We have to be responsive to the marketplace and align workforce preparation expectations with the University's program offerings to ensure that our graduates can compete and have the opportunity to succeed. Upper Iowa remains committed to providing accessible, affordable and well-regarded higher education with employment rates for its graduates that meet or exceed national averages."

UIU President William R. Duffy, Ed.D., Ed.S., added that the academic redesign is not only about adding or deleting majors but is, more importantly, about expanding opportunities for UIU students around the world.

"Many UIU majors and programs will now reach more students than just those who sit in classrooms here in Fayette or at one of our centers. We have expanded the offerings available through the UIU online learning program, making these opportunities accessible to everyone," Duffy said. "We also refreshed and updated programs to add specific skills that can be taken into the 21st century workplace, and help UIU students stand out as exceptional students, employees and professionals."

Realignment of majors will continue as needed as part of the University's ongoing quality improvement process, he added.

Attending Upper Iowa for the new 2014-15 academic year are:

Dawson Jones of Muscatine, IA

Anthony Murillo of Davenport, IA

Anna Schroeder of Davenport, IA

About Upper Iowa University Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to more than 6,200 students-nationally and internationally-at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and self-paced degree program. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.

Less than half of high school graduates who took the SAT in 2013 were prepared for college, continuing a five-year trend.

Less than half - 44 percent -- who took the ACT had the reading skills necessary for college. That's down from 53 percent in 2009. And nearly a third failed to meet standards in four areas: reading, English, science and math.

The failures have persisted despite years of new tests, new curricula and new demands on teachers, notes educational researcher and consultant Charles M. Reigeluth, author of "Reinventing Schools: It's Time to Break the Mold," (www.reigeluth.net).

"We continue to approach the same problems with the same sorts of solutions, despite the fact that they're not working," he says. "Instead, we need a fundamental shift in how we educate our children. Our public school system was designed to meet the needs of a long-ago era - the Industrial Age. It's not working because we're now in the Information Age."

Teachers unfairly shoulder much of the blame for the lack of progress, he notes, but they're hamstrung by roles and rules that don't work for 21st century students.

"We need to change from teacher-centered education to learner-centered. In the Industrial Age paradigm, teachers are a judge and a perceived threat. In the Information Age, they should be guides and coaches who help students overcome obstacles," says Reigeluth.

His multidimensional approach includes reducing bureaucracy in schools; encouraging students to teach each other with teacher supervision; having interns and other paraprofessionals, including retiree volunteers, assist with guiding student learning; and creating an "educational cooperative," where a community's adults can earn access to learning resources, advancing their own education, in exchange for helping students learn.

"The new paradigm can significantly reduce the cost of education while increasing the quality," says Reigeluth, who outlines the five new roles teachers would have in this redesigned system.

•  Mentor ... the same 20 to 30 students for several years, addressing all aspects of student development. Students and teachers would develop the deeper relationships that foster real caring on both sides. Mentors would help students prepare a personal learning plan for each project period, six to 12 weeks, including helping each student and his parents choose appropriate instructional goals, subject to standards set by the community, state and nation. Mentors would also help identify and support the best means for each student to achieve those goals.

•  Designer ... of student work options, mostly projects or tasks, to engage students in the learning process. Open educational resources developed by teachers throughout the country and available to all educators for free via the Internet can alleviate much of the burden of the designer role.

•  Facilitator ... of the learning process, which entails monitoring student progress, enhancing student motivation and coaching student performance.

•  Learner ... the teacher is always learning with the students, about students, from and for the students. The teacher does not have all the answers, but the teacher helps students find answers. And the teacher is always learning more about how best to meet students' needs. The new paradigm provides sufficient support for teacher learning.

•  Owner and manager ... of the school. Like lawyers and accountants in a small firm, teachers would be partners who own their public school and make decisions about its operations, including budgeting and staffing. This model is already a success at the Minnesota New Country School and other EdVisions schools. This role elevates teachers to that of true professionals, rather than workers controlled by an all-powerful bureaucracy.

"These new roles offer empowerment to those who are most affected by our system, the student and the teacher, the latter of whom I suggest calling 'guides' to better reflect their new roles," Reigeluth says. "The new roles better serve students in the age in which we live."

About Charles M. Reigeluth

Charles M. Reigeluth is a distinguished educational researcher who focuses on paradigm change in education. He has a B.A. in economics from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in instructional psychology from Brigham Young University. He was a professor at the Instructional Systems Technology Department at Indiana University, and is a former chairman of the department. His new book, "Reinventing Schools," (www.reigeluth.net), advocates and chronicles a national paradigm change in K-12 education. He offers presentations and consulting on this topic.

MADISON (August 5, 2014) - Approximately 6,500 students received degrees during the University of Wisconsin-Madison's May 17, 2014 spring commencement ceremony.

Among the graduates are Alexia Nicole Zatarain, Doctor of Law (Juris Doctor) from Davenport and William Clarence Nunn, Master of Business Administration - Business General Management from Rock Island.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. delivered the charge to graduates at the ceremony, which was held at Camp Randall Stadium

For more information about UW-Madison commencement, visithttp://commencement.wisc.edu. Here are the degree recipients from your area:

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