Iowa State and Des Moines Area Community College will work together in a new program to help students in exercise and sport science.

The “2+2” agreement will help students who transfer from DMACC to Iowa State with a major in exercise and sport science graduate in four years, officials say.

Karin VanMeter, DMACC’s program chairwoman for exercise science, helped to set up a curriculum for students who wish to complete their last two years at Iowa State as exercise and sports science majors.

“Students need to be informed of the possibilities,” VanMeter said. The program gives students an idea of what to expect at Iowa State, she said.

Cindy Frederickson, an academic adviser in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Iowa State, said, with this program, it would be easier for transfer students to get a good start and efficient finish.

“We didn’t have a coordinated program before,” VanMeter said. “Students didn’t have the correct courses to graduate in four years.”

Carol Cordell, an academic adviser in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Iowa State, said it’s very common for students to lose a whole semester or year’s worth of work due to transfers.

“This program gives the students a better blueprint,” she said.

Program officials will begin a “much larger effort” to find ways to streamline the transfer process, Cordell said. “Our goal is be more clear on the transfer agreements,” she said. Of the about 650 students enrolled as exercise and sport science majors at Iowa State, nearly one-third have transferred from a community college.

To facilitate the transfer, DMACC added five classes to its curriculum and developed a new two-year transfer degree in exercise science. It could also allow students to transfer early or take classes at DMACC and Iowa State simultaneously, VanMeter said.

“We already have nine students registered for fall,” she said. Students will meet every two weeks and must maintain a 2.0 grade point average to stay in the program, she said.

Cordell said she’s not sure if the program will cause an increase in the number of students in the exercise and sport science field, but she said she hopes students will be “more focused and organized in class selection.”

As far as expanding the “2+2” plan, VanMeter said the department might adapt it for other areas in health and human performance, and it could possibly become a part of other ISU departments.