We should try to get as much out of Ivy Tech's uniqueness while we can. As soon as other states figure out what we're doing, they'll start imitating us:
Ivy Tech's plan to reinvent itself as more than a single-minded technical school is starting to pay off with big numbers.
The state's community college system announced Wednesday that enrollment has shot up by nearly 12 percent over last year, fueled in great part by a growing number of academically inclined students whose goal is to transfer to four-year universities.
I think we're going to realize in a few years that turning Ivy Tech into a true community college was one of the smartest things we ever did. People keep wondering how we should rework higher education to integrate it into the 21st century economy; the secret is that we may have already done the most important thing. Because it is so cheap, many more people can afford Ivy Tech. Because there are so many campuses, it is attrative both to stay-at-home graduating seniors and dislocated workers who need new training. Because most of its credits are transferrable to other public universities, it will draw those not sure if they're college material but want to give it a try.
Comments
Ivy Tech seems to be on the right track!
Get the 2 yr. assoc. degree, transfer to another college to get the bachelor's..sounds like a plan.
A GOOD plan.
Just be thankful they're not planning on CHANGING THEIR LOGO!
;)
B.G.
Boy, talk about things that suddenly make you remember the past, ... I taught at the Ft. Wayne Ivy Tech "campus" for quite a number of years, quite a number of years ago. It was a mixture of full time, part time, and I chaired the computer programming department for a year when it was just getting off the ground. Boy, were those the good ol days. And you could do something there back then that you can't do now, teach there, even be a department head, without a degree, back in those days all you had to do was be good at what you did and be kinda well known in the industry. I had both those qualities, but no degree. But, everyone and everything has to, I suppose, grow up. It's a good thing that they now allow Ivy Tech's credits to transfer, and one of the things they had to give up for that accreditation was the non-degreed staff. Couldn
Many states have had 'community colleges'; Indiana didn't event it, but in fact is late in joining the course. In areas like Kansas community colleges play large rolls in providing a step stone in the education system. Ivy Tech itself has a long way to go to truly be an asset to the education system. Ivy Tech administration will have to decide how they are handling staff, and truly educating. As an older Ivy Tech student I not overly impressed so far with their structure, the hierarchy, and overall administration. Ivy Tech wants to be a state wide college, yet are still running regionally, all the way down to having different books in one region versus another. This truly makes it considerably hard for the online student. Trying to also offer online education is another large issue for them which needs re-direction. Then they are truly failing many students when you really compare how few of their programs transfer over to the 4 year college system.
But we have regional economies within the state economy -- the needs of northeast Indiana and southeast Indiana aren't likely to be the same. I think it's part of Ivy Tech's mission statement to be responsive to regional concerns. I agree that online-learning opportunities need to be grow. It might be tougher to do without a statewide curriculum, but the two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.