261—20.16 (260G) Evaluation criteria for quality assurance—program job credits.
	 20.16(1) Agreements submitted for funding shall be in draft form and shall include an evaluation summary to assist the department in gathering information for making study recommendations required by 2000 Iowa Acts, chapter 1196, section 5, and to provide program quality within each merged area program. Quality issues shall be reviewed and rated by the department based upon the following evaluation criteria within each merged area:

a.	Wage level assessment (1 to 5 points).	
 	1 point	Statutory minimum wage level (see rule 261—20.13(260G), numbered paragraph “1”).	
 	2 points	Statutory minimum plus additional $2,500 per annum.	
 	3 points	Above plus additional $2,500 per annum.	
 	4 points	Above plus additional $2,500 per annum.	
 	5 points	Above plus additional $2,500 per annum.	
b.	Skill profile (3 or 6 points).	
 	3 points	Meets statutory definition of “highly skilled job” (see rule 261—20.2(260G)).	
 	6 points	Above plus serves targeted industries as designated by the department (see subrule 20.3(2)).	
c.	Educational profile (1 or 2 points).	
 	2 points	Credit career, vocational or technical educational program (see paragraph 20.3(1)“a”).	
 	1 point	Credit-equivalent career, vocational or technical educational program consisting of not less than 540 contact hours (see paragraph 20.3(1)“b”).	
d.	Program job demand (0 or 3 points).	
 	3 points	Program jobs are in demand within the merged area, region or company.	
e.	Availability of program services (0 or 3 points).	
 	3 points	Adequate resources and curriculum necessary to implement the program.	
f.	Marketing plan (0 or 3 points).	
 	3 points	Adequate marketing plan to recruit students for program jobs involving entities including but not limited to business, labor, and community college.	
g.	Merged area stakeholders support (0 or 1 point).	
 	1 point	Agreement demonstrates substantial area stakeholder support for the program via letters or other supporting information.	
h.	Level of employer contributions (3 to 5 points).	
 	3 points	Not less than 20 percent of program costs.	
 	4 points	Not less than 22 percent of program costs.	
 	5 points	Not less than 24 percent of program costs.	
Agreements must receive a rating by the college and by the department of at least 18 points out of 28 total possible points to receive tax credits.
	 20.16(2) Each agreement will be submitted to the department in draft form at least 20 days before it is presented to the community college board for final approval. Within 20 days the department may approve without comment or append its statement of disapproval if it does not agree that the agreement merits at least 18 points out of 28 points.