Bonnie Brown is a Hawkeye, but you won’t find her milling around the Pentacrest between classes. In fact, she has never seen Old Capitol in person. She lives in Clive, Iowa, with her 6-year-old son and works full time as a security officer. This summer she is also canvassing neighborhoods part-time, signing people up for absentee ballots.

Despite these demands on her schedule, Brown, 26, will graduate from the University of Iowa’s Des Moines campus in May 2017 with a bachelor's degree in social work.

“I’m so glad that they do offer this program in Des Moines,” says Brown, “because for people that live here and are raising a family here, it’s just so much easier to get an education.”

For 40 years, the University of Iowa has offered a master's program in social work in the Des Moines area, and has offered a bachelor's degree in social work since 2010.

After the AIB board of trustees voted to donate their 20-acre campus to the UI in January 2015, the university has worked to expand the number of programs offered.

This fall, Brown will take advantage of those new course offerings, and she is not alone. According to Tom Rice, director of UI–Des Moines programs, many students interested in the UI can’t make the move to Iowa City, but want access to high-quality programs and expert faculty.

“Some individuals may have started their college education, but never finished it,” says Rice. “Others may have no higher education completed at all, but to get a promotion or otherwise advance their career, they might need a four-year degree.”

Having been involved in politics since the age of 14, Brown originally studied political science at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), but turned to social work at the UI because she felt it “opened up more doors than the political science field to be able to help people, be involved in people’s lives, and make a positive difference.”

After earning a bachelor's degree, Brown hopes to earn a master's in social work at the UI as well, followed by time abroad in the Peace Corps, then law school, and, one day, public office. “Maybe a state representative,” she says, “or state senator. I may run for Congress, but I don’t know.”

This fall, in addition to a social work course, Brown will also take a political science course offered by one of the new programs.

The UI is accepting students until Aug. 1 for classes in three new UI undergraduate programs in Des Moines: enterprise leadership, political science, and sports and recreation management. Now called the Iowa Center for Higher Education, the hope is for the former AIB campus to offer courses from all three of Iowa’s public universities.

Proximity to Des Moines–area businesses, government, and professional sports teams is expected to provide opportunities for high-impact experiences that will complement course material.

For example, Brown will need to begin an internship in January 2017 as part of her degree in social work. She hopes to work with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, located in nearby Urbandale.

Because of Brown’s demanding schedule, convenience and flexibility are important. The security company where she works has been flexible in offering her shifts around her class schedule, and she has access to 24-hour child care, allowing her to work night shifts as needed.

“I’ve always lived close to Des Moines,” Brown says. “My son’s here; he goes to school here already, so it was just more convenient to be able to just drive a couple miles and go to classes here.”

“Our programs are designed to be flexible,” says Rice. “We offer plenty of evening and online classes, and—even though they aren’t taking place in the Iowa City campus—we provide the same high-quality education you would expect from an internationally renowned university like the UI.”

Rice offers the example of UI Professor Tim Hagle, who is often quoted by state and national news media for his political expertise. Hagle will teach a political science class in Des Moines this fall.

“Part of the university’s job is to educate the people of this state,” says Rice, “and one way to do that is to bring it to them.”