Craig Owens taught at Drake University before becoming dean of Bright College. Image courtesy of Drake University
John D. Bright College’s newest cohort, Drake, has seen its first class of students advance and become graduates, while its other two current cohorts are set to see the same fate: graduation. With another semester, the second class of graduates will walk the graduation stage at the Knapp Center.
In pursuit of higher education in an innovative way, Bright College is Drake University’s first associate degree program. Bright College is named after Bulldogs football player John “Johnny” Dee Bright. Bright, who graduated from Drake in 1952, was a football player for Drake Who faced racist attacks, including physical assault during a game in Oklahoma. Name according to the program Heritage pagepraises his “perseverance, resilience, dedication, leadership, and civic and professional engagement” that they hope to instill in students.
The college aims to be a new alternative to traditional higher education. Bright College’s two-year cohort program, where students work with the same classmates for two years, allows students to earn associate degrees that focus on transferable skills. The degrees so far are Arts, Sciences, Integrated Humanities, Business and Organization and Professional Studies.
Bright College provides full access to the Drake campus, events, programs, organizations and community. After graduation, students have the option of continuing their studies at Drake to earn a bachelor’s degree from any undergraduate school offered by Drake. Drake University School of Law and Athletics are exempt from this offer.
Another thing that makes Bright College unique is its staff. Many professors also teach undergraduate courses, but Bright has its own communications team. They help students with their career and well-being needs.
John Kipps, career and academic support specialist, was featured in a recent Facebook post from the Bright College page. According to the mailhe “advises all Bright College students as they navigate their college careers and prepare for their careers.”
Sophia Turnbull, Administrative Support Specialist, provides students with well-being needs such as breakfast, toiletries, basic needs, financial aid, and administrative support.
The dean of Bright College, Craig Owens, is a former professor of English at Drake who has taught at Drake since 2003. According to Drake press releaseHe had worked to establish the college since 2019.
D: Regarding student success, can you share insights into the success rate of graduates and their employment outcomes after graduation?
Owens: not yet. The most reliable data will reach us in December or January. We wait six months after graduation to survey our students.
TD: What are the benefits of earning a degree from Drake University?
Owens: [There is] There is no doubt that Drake’s degree is the best degree you can get in Iowa [and] Top 100 scores in the country for return on investment, likelihood of employment, and likelihood of continued achievement [and] Average salary. 10 years after graduating, we rank among some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country when it comes to that. According to the Wall Street Journal. [we’re] The only university in Iowa to make the nation’s top 100 in terms of educational achievement.
We have achieved what I would call a proof of principle. This means that we know that the way we have organized our curriculum is to schedule our lessons [and] Spread our financial aid to take advantage of opportunities. We know that it all works. It leads to high academic achievement on the part of enrolled students. We have high expectations for our students when they arrive. We ask difficult, complex, multidisciplinary questions that require a lot of thought and a lot of work to understand.
TD: What are Bright College’s plans for expansion next semester?
Owens: Once you have proof of principle, the next step is to start scaling it. Our goal for next year is to double the number of cohorts we can enroll each year. One group has been registered each year. We are looking to sign two in the next two years and expand that to three.
So, volume is one of the big priorities for the next few years. The second is to make some intentional additions to the curriculum, pending faculty approval, that will create dedicated health sciences pathways for students who want to pursue health sciences degrees and the new nursing degree at Drake.