NIACC has developed cooperative programs with high schools in our service area to identify career program prerequisites, to reward students for previous learning experiences, to provide a challenging educational experience for each student, and to ensure a smoother transition for students into postsecondary degree programs.
Career Link Programs and Classes
Career Link programs and classes are educational partnerships between high schools and NIACC. Career Link focuses on providing students with skills needed to perform in today’s workforce. A major component is an applied (hands-on) curriculum that recognizes the widely varying learning styles of students. It involves the creation of a carefully designed sequence of high school and college courses leading to an associate degree. Student career exploration and planning, along with a parental community awareness of workforce needs and employment opportunities, are vital components of a Career Link program.
Career Link programs at the NIACC campus include:
- Agriculture
- Automotive Service Technology
- Building Trades
- Business Administration
- Diesel Technology
- Health Care
- Heating and Air Conditioning Technology
- Industrial Mechanics and Maintenance
- Industrial Systems Technology
- Teacher Education
- Tool and Die Technology
- Welding
In addition to the on-campus programs, Career Link Academies are located across North Iowa. Students from surrounding high schools travel to the Career Link Academy where they complete up to 23 semester hours of college credit during their senior year.
NIACC has established Career Link Academies at the following sites:
Entrepreneurship - Garner-Hayfield-Ventura High School
Health Careers - West Hancock High School and Hancock County Memorial Hospital
Industrial Technology - Rockwell
All area school districts offer NIACC classes taught at the high school during the regular school day. In many cases, high school instructors, who meet NIACC teaching qualifications, teach the courses. NIACC textbooks and course outlines are utilized. The result is a savings of time and resources for the student. Area students also take classes online or travel to NIACC to take classes face to face.
Nationally Accredited Program 
The NIACC Career Link program is nationally accredited by NACEP, the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships. This accreditation demonstrates that the Career Link program meets or exceeds rigorous national standards of quality in the areas of curriculum, instructors, students, assessment, and program evaluation.
For information about the Career Link programs and classes available at your high school, contact your high school counselor or contact the NIACC School Partnership Department at (641) 422-4175 or 1-888-466-4222, Ext. 4175.
Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
At the high school level, the nationwide Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Pathways to Engineering program is a four-year sequence of courses which, when combined with traditional high school math and science courses, introduces students to the scope, rigor, and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. PLTW forms partnerships among universities, community colleges, secondary schools, and business/industry to increase the quality and quantity of engineers. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the community colleges (including NIACC) are actively involved with the national PLTW initiative.
Students who successfully complete PLTW concurrent enrollment courses while in high school will earn NIACC technical elective college credit as follows:
EGT - 400 Project-Lead-The-Way – Introduction to Engineering Design
EGT - 410 Project-Lead-The-Way – Principles of Engineering
Students enrolled in a NIACC Industrial Technology program will qualify for course substitutions as follows:
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