Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Ivy Tech Community College recently announced it has engaged RAND Corp. to conduct a three-year study of the postsecondary institution’s Achieve Your Degree program.
Through Achieve Your Degree – a partnership between the college and community businesses and institutions – local employees are offered an opportunity to earn an Ivy Tech education at a minimal upfront cost, given participating employer tuition benefits.
The study, funded by the nonprofit Ascendium, will provide a detailed look at the Achieve Your Degree program, as well as others within the college that assist low-income working adult students.
Ivy Tech launched Achieve Your Degree on the Evansville campus in 2016. Six years ago, 10.8% of Ivy Tech’s students statewide completed their accreditation, certificate or degree within two years. By 2019, on-time completion had climbed to 15.9%.
In August, the higher education commission released preliminary data showing the on-time college completion rate for all 2021 graduates from all state institutions continued a five-year improvement trend, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported. Extended-time completion, which includes students finishing degrees within six years, also showed progress.
About 45% of all Hoosier college students graduated on time in 2021 or completed a long-term certificate or associate degree within two years – about a 1% improvement year over year and 2% better than in 2019. And around 66% of all four-year college students graduate within six years, up 2.5% from 2020 – that’s almost an 11% gain in on-time graduations since 2016.
There is an urgency to raise the completion rates of two- and four-year college degrees, as well as workforce credentials, to prepare Hoosier workers for the jobs of the future. In 2014, the state took a significant step to help more students graduate on time.
The higher education commission launched an initiative to keep college students on track for graduation. Called “15 to Finish,” it encourages students to take at least 15 credit hours each semester.
To graduate on time, students need to complete a minimum of 30 credits per year, or 15 per semester. But just 33% of students attending Indiana’s public colleges were doing so in 2014.
Achieve Your Degree comes with enormous benefits for the participating student employees and their employers.
Financial barriers to higher education are lessened for students through tuition deferral and the financial aid process. Uniquely designed career certificates provide professional and career pathways within the student’s company at a reduced price to the employer. And employers can develop a higher skilled workforce from within, reducing turnover and fostering company loyalty.
Companies that offer tuition benefits to their employees are uniquely positioned to partner with Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree program, and workers at those companies now can pursue their education with minimal up-front costs.
