KPACE
KPACE Credit
This program is for students who have low income, are low-skilled, dislocated workers, or are under/unemployed. Students must be enrolled in an A.S program and must maintain a 2.0 GPA. Must have a high school diploma or equivalent, be at English level 4 or above, and be eligible to work in the US. It is limited to under 40 students with funding (currently has 21 in program).
It provides:
- A need-based weekly stipend (prorated based on credit, up to $2,500 per academic year) and any supplies needed for the program.
- Check-in’s at least 3 x each semester and support with personal, career, financial, or resiliency goals.
Location: Main Campus- Cedar Rapids and KRCUI
KPACE Non-Credit
Offers support for students in CNA program, Business Specialist, and welding certificate programs. Students must have a high school diploma or equivalent, be at English level 4 or above, and be eligible to work in the US. Funding is from the Iowa Department of Education. Each program is limited to approximately 10 students per certificate area each cohort (spring and fall starts).
This program provides:
- A weekly stipend and supplies needed for the program
- Check-in’s at least 3x each semester including support with personal, career, financial, or resiliency goals
- Work on a resume, complete mock interviews, and share a list of employers hiring
- Can assist with transportation needs (bus pass or mileage reimbursement if over 5 miles from campus)
Location: Main Campus- Cedar Rapids
Rubric for Evaluation
Rating Scale:
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- 3 – Excellent. This resource goes above and beyond in this area.
- 2 – Adequate. Efforts are being made but more could be done to make it more accessible.
- 1 – Insufficient. This resource is not accessible in this way.
- N/A – not applicable for this resource.
| Current Use/Reflection | Notes |
| Who is the target audience for this resource? | Low Income, dislocated workers, unemployed, under-employed and low skilled individuals. |
| What are the services being offered by the resource? | KPACE Non-Credit (KNC); for all eligible students: financial resources for tuition, equipment/tools, PPE, clothing, mileage reimbursement/bus passes and child-care. Case-by-case: emergency assistance for rent, utility bills, car repairs.
KPACE Credit (KC): Up to $2500 yearly stipend paid out bi-weekly based on time attendance. Non-financial assistance for both programs: career assistance, resumes, mock-interviews, job search assistance |
| Are there known barriers or stigma that may prevent students from accessing the resource? | KNC – Limited certificate options, limited locations and availability of the certificate trainings that are funded. KC – limited slots available based on funding. Unsure about other barriers, |
| Is there any data available regarding student perceptions/use of this resource? | KNC – Continuing Education collects students’ feedback after every certificate completion. Their operations team has this information.
KC – No formal process. |
| Rating | Notes | |
| Physical Accessibility | ||
| Is the physical location accessible to the student population it serves? | 2 | KC – yes, staff office is located on main campus.
KNC – CR: welding is located at Linn County Regional Center. This location is appropriate for this class. Our offices are located at KLIFE with high school completion/ESL programs. Nurse Aide is located on main campus in Linn Hall. This is an appropriate location. KNC – Coralville – office and classes are located at Regional Center. |
| Are the resource’s visual images adequate in clearly communicating services, etc.? | 1 | No– no signage to easily locate staff or communicate services. |
| Wayfinding signage leading to the resource is visible, high contrast, and easy to identify. | 1 | We need more visibility across the campus as a resource. Our department has very scattered marketing initiatives, which could be consolidated and integrated across the college’s marketing initiatives. |
| Scheduling/Time Accessibility | ||
| Do the resource hours and timing of programming meet student needs? | 1 | KPACE is part of the Skills-to-Employment department whose office work hour are 8a-5p for staff. KPACE does offer evening classes. Staff make contact with students in evening classes as needed. |
| Does the resource offer an on-demand option for face-to-face and online students? | 2 | Not for classes. All classes are held in-person. Staff can be available via zoom, phone or in-person.
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| Do students have the ability to easily self-schedule at a time convenient for them? | 2 | Y/N. It is up to individual staff to determine how they want to schedule appointments.
KC – Calendly. KNC – Individualized for staff – Calendly and direct communication. |
| Digital Accessibility | ||
| Are available online resources easy to locate and user-friendly? | 1 | Yes, but difficult to find
Kirkwood’s website and Continuing Education’s website are difficult to navigate in general. KIN is next to impossible. |
| Are necessary print resources available in digital formats? | 2 | Program has moved to fillable electronic applications. Staff email these, as they are not online. |
| Collaboration Support | ||
| Does the resource help students communicate, collaborate, work, or share information about academic content? | 2 | KNC – our classes are cohort models, so the same students attend the same class allowing students to get to know each other and able to provide assistance or feedback to each other.
KC – Not so much
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| Multilingual Accessibility | ||
| Does the resource currently provide or have access to translation tools or reference materials in commonly spoken languages by Kirkwood ELLs? | 1 | No for both programs. Given that classes are held in English, we do require a strong level of English Comprehension. We also offer pre-pathways within secondary programs to increase language proficiency at no cost to the student.
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| Does the resource use clear language and avoid jargon? | 2 | Our program marketing material uses basic language that is at an intermediate English level.
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| Feedback | ||
| Is there a system in place for students and staff to provide feedback on services? | 2 | Yes.
KNC – Continuing Education collects students’ feedback after every certificate completion. Their operations team has this information. KC – No formal process |
| Is there a process for periodic reviews of the resource and ongoing improvement? | 2 | We continually look for areas that work well, do not work well, and based on what we see/hear with our classes and students, can pivot quickly. For example, offer a different training certificate. |
| Inclusivity | ||
| Does the resource actively engage with traditionally underserved populations? | 3 | KNC and KC utilize community resources to deliver information to low income populations in CR. We also work heavily on student referral and work closely with our ESL, ELA and High School completion programs. We utilize Learning services if needed and address student concerns upon intake. The programs are designed for working adults. |
| Does the resource take measures to ensure traditionally underserved populations feel welcome? | 3 | We are located in the same building as our secondary programs and are able to meet with students who are gaining high school credentials or proficiency in English. The team has taken an active role in their own racial awareness education and unconscious bias training. There is a lot of dialogue on our team about providing equitable access to everyone. |
| Are there events and activities that promote inclusivity? | N/A | Describe any events or initiatives related to inclusivity. |
| Are staff trained in cultural competence and inclusivity? | 2 | Yes, KPACE staff is committed to racial awareness training and anti-racist policies. Staff regularly attend trainings offered, book clubs and discuss equity when decision-making. There could always be more offerings for staff to attend. |
| Communication/Marketing | ||
| Which channels of communication are used to share services/programs | 2 | KCC’s website; program- specific marketing such as digital marketing. Traditional marketing such as getting flyers to our Community Based Organizations (CBO) communicating with internal Kirkwood partners, and word of mouth are our best promoters. |
| Is there a proactive strategy in place to ensure students and faculty are aware of resource materials/events/opportunities? | 1 | KPACE staff take a lot of responsibility for communicating resources and events. There could be more streamlining in that process. |
| Does the resource market itself to students appropriately? | 2 | We routinely do presentations to CBOs and internal stakeholders within the college. For KC, this includes a table at new student orientations. |