BVU, Council Bluffs Schools Establish Strategic Partnership
Council Bluffs Community School District becomes Strategic Partner with BVU, enabling it to offer educational benefits like discounted tuition to employees, their spouses, and dependents.
Buena Vista University (BVU) and the Council Bluffs Community School District have entered a Strategic Partnership to invest in those who serve students.
Within the new Strategic Partnership, full-time employees of the Council Bluffs Community School District, as well as their family members, may receive grant funding to lower the overall cost of education while enrolled in classes at BVU’s Storm Lake campus. Partner grant funding also lowers the cost per credit hour for students enrolled in BVU’s convenient online/hybrid undergraduate programs or the organizational leadership graduate program.
BVU professors and staff are also available for training programs, workshops, and more should administrators and teachers with the Council Bluffs schools seek those services and expertise.
“We are always grateful to join together with other community-minded organizations to strengthen our school community.”
Dr. Vickie Murillo, Council Bluffs Community Schools Superintendent
“We are proud to partner with BVU to add this opportunity to further the education of our employees and their families at a more affordable cost,” Superintendent Dr. Vickie Murillo says. “We are always grateful to join together with other community-minded organizations to strengthen our school community.”
More than 1,220 full-time employees serve the 8,300 students of the Council Bluffs Community School District. This partnership represents the largest community school district partner for the University in its Strategic Partnerships initiative.
BVU has long enjoyed strong educational ties in and around Council Bluffs, home to Iowa Western Community College, a site that has collaborated with BVU for decades, as BVU celebrates its 45th anniversary in partnering with community colleges across Iowa. BVU staff are available on IWCC’s campus to assist individuals searching for information, or current students who seek student success support. BVU offers coursework online or through a hybrid format. In the hybrid format for education majors, students attend one evening session per week via Zoom complemented by online coursework in an eight-week period.
The current Council Bluffs Community School District Licensed Staff Member of the Year, Britney (Hansen) Beatty, is a 2015 BVU graduate. She teaches fifth grade at Carter Lake Elementary School.
“We’re excited to build upon our relationship with the Council Bluffs Community School District by entering a Strategic Partnership,” says Katie Smith, BVU Director of Strategic Partnerships. “It will be wonderful to see staff members and their families continue their education at BVU while receiving a savings. Through education, it is our mission at BVU to work to create stronger cities, towns, organizations, and people across Iowa, the Midwest, and beyond.”
For more information about BVU’s Strategic Partnerships and partner opportunities, please visit the BVU website at bvu.edu/strategic-partnerships or contact Katie Smith at SmithK@bvu.edu.