.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} A bachelor’s degree completion program, intercollegiate sports, online courses and scholarships promoting diversity probably aren’t the first things most people associate with AIB College of Business.

All of these elements, however, have progressed from the planning phases to reality in the past two years at AIB as the 85-year-old private, non-profit college strives to remain competitive in a rapidly changing collegiate market.

One of the biggest elements of its strategy has been to seek accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association to offer bachelor’s degree programs, which it received in February 2006.

About 135 students enrolled in AIB’s new bachelor’s completion programs in business administration and accounting last fall, the first semester it was offered. That number was nearly triple what the college had anticipated, said AIB President Nancy Williams.

Some students don’t want to go immediately to a four-year college; they can come here and get the applied science degree that’s going to lead to a job.
– Nancy Williams President, AIB College of Business

“We were overwhelmed, since we had only had the approval in February (2006), and one of the (NCA’s) rules is that you can’t recruit at all until after you’re officially approved,” she said. “So we didn’t have a lot of time for recruiting purposes. We thought maybe we would have about 50. It’s very exciting for us.”

AIB, which operates from a 20-acre campus just south of downtown on Fleur Drive, traditionally has attracted a large number of small-town Iowa students who want to earn a degree and find employment in Des Moines. Now, it’s strategically positioning itself to become the choice of more Greater Des Moines residents as well.

Enrollment at the college, which has remained steady at about 900 students, would have been lower this year had it not been for the new bachelor’s degree program, said Joan Bindel, AIB’s vice president for enrollment.

“So it’s helping us maintain enrollment,” said Bindel, who said the college would like to increase that number to about 1,100 students.

With a tuition rate of $330 per credit hour, the school can’t compete on a price basis with state-funded community colleges, but is seeking ways to improve upon what it does best – finding jobs for its students and graduates. The college boasts a nearly 100 percent placement rate for its graduates in their chosen fields.

Megan Wheatley, a freshman at AIB College of Business, uses a free period to check her schedule on Blackboard, a program AIB provides to all its students.Photo by Duane Tinkey

In addition to having a number of their associate-degree graduates stay on to earn four-year degrees, AIB officials hope to recruit some bachelor-degree candidates from the state’s two-year community colleges. At the same time, the college has just launched a scholarship program that will offer $2,000-per-year grants to minority students.

Some AIB students, such as Nicole Fredregill, are finding the evening bachelor’s degree classes accommodate their work schedules – and that their employers will pay their tuition as well.

Fredregill, who graduated from Des Moines Area Community College in May 2005 with an associate’s degree in liberal arts, has worked for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for the past two years. She enrolled at AIB last fall.

“I wanted something focused on business,” said the 22-year-old, who started at Wells Fargo in loan processing and this week will begin working in the company’s accounting department. “I’m pretty positive that working toward a degree has helped me [to move up to that position],” she said. With Wells Fargo’s tuition reimbursement program paying up to $5,000 per year, the only expense she’ll have for her bachelor’s degree in business administration will be for books.

Williams said AIB is seeking approval to offer the bachelor’s degree programs and its real-time reporting classes completely online to provide further flexibility for students.

Though most of the students in the bachelor’s program so far have come from among its own graduates, “we are reaching out to try to find students from the community colleges,” Williams said. “That might be a great potential audience for us, because we need workers in Des Moines.”

At the same time, AIB doesn’t want to lose its primary niche as a two-year business college, Williams said.

“I don’t see us changing [to become a completely four-year college] right now,” she said. “I’m not sure I see a huge benefit to our students in doing that. Some students don’t want to go immediately to a four-year college; they can come here and get the applied science degree that’s going to lead to a job. We have such an expertise in what we do now. I do think we’re meeting a special need.”

Another factor in the decision to remain a two-year college is the move into intercollegiate sports, Williams said. A women’s basketball team will take the court for the first time this fall, competing against other two-year schools in Iowa’s community college league. The college also plans to begin a men’s basketball team within the next couple of years.

“Starting from scratch with athletics, we wouldn’t want to be put in a league to compete with Simpson or Drake or the other four-year schools,” she said. “Plus, it will get us on the community college campuses around Iowa, and while we’re there, we’re going to recruit for our bachelor’s degree programs.”

Williams said there has also been a “huge request” for starting a volleyball team, and that “business sports” such as golf and tennis are also possibilities.

According to a survey of AIB students, 90 percent of the student body indicated they would either participate on a team or attend games, said José de Jesús, AIB’s director of public relations. With a $5 million activities building that was completed seven years ago, AIB already has the most expensive element of a sports program in place, he said.

The college will begin an annual homecoming celebration and will offer other activities for the community, de Jesús said.

“We’re lucky to be on the South Side; it’s a very tight-knit community,” he said. “We’re hoping the community sees us as their home team and will support us.”

Encouraging more diversity on campus is the goal behind the Monroe Colston Diversity Leadership Grant program.

“Right now our minority student population is about 7 percent,” de Jesús said. “I want to increase that because I firmly believe that diversity is something that improves the college. And our goal is not only to recruit more diverse students, but also to recruit more diverse staff.”

The college plans to offer between 15 and 20 of the new grants each year, depending upon demand, he said. It has already received about 10 applications for the first round of grants, which closes out later this month.

“We’re excited about the diversity scholarships,” said Williams, noting that they mesh well with AIB’s goal of increasing its recruiting in Greater Des Moines. “This will go beyond other scholarships available,” she said.