281—21.1(260C) Definitions.

For purposes of this chapter, the indicated terms are defined as follows:

“Applied liberal arts and sciences course” means a course that is classified as arts and sciences in Iowa’s common course numbering system and that primarily consists of hands-on or occupational skill development, including but not limited to accounting, ceramics, criminal investigation, dance, drama, music, photography, and physical education.

“Department” means the Iowa department of education.

“Director” means the director of the department.

“Federally recognized accreditor of postsecondary educational institutions” or “federally recognized accreditor” means an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education to perform accreditation functions and selected by the state board of education to perform such functions in Iowa. The state board may select more than one federally recognized accreditor. Iowa Code sections 260C.47 and 260C.48 require that the state accreditation process be integrated with the processes established by a federally recognized accreditor.

“Field of instruction” means the discipline or occupational area within which an instructor teaches, which aligns with the content of the course being taught as indicated by the course prefix, title, or description.

“Full-time equivalent enrollment” or “FTEE” equals 24 credit hours for credit courses or 600 contact hours for noncredit courses generated by all eligible students enrolled in eligible courses.

“Full-time instructor” means an instructor who is considered to be full-time if the community college board of directors designates the instructor as full-time. Determination of full-time status is based on local board-approved contracts.

“Joint enrollment” means any community college credit course offered to students enrolled in a secondary school. Courses offered for joint enrollment include courses delivered through contractual agreements between school districts and community colleges, courses delivered through the postsecondary enrollment options program, and college credit courses taken independently by tuition-paying secondary school students.

“Qualifying graduate field or major” means a qualifying graduate field or major that represents an academic discipline in which an instructor must have earned credit in order to teach courses in specified fields of instruction.

“Relevant tested experience” means the breadth, depth, and currency of work experience outside of the classroom in real-world situations relevant to the field of instruction.

[ARC 7790C, IAB 4/17/24, effective 5/22/24; ARC 9102C, IAB 4/16/25, effective 5/21/25; ARC 0057D, IAB 2/4/26, effective 3/11/26]