Books not fries

IU President Adam Herbert, in the waning days of his tenure, recently instituted a course-credit policy that will give Ivy Tech students easier access to the University. Herbert, along with Ivy Tech President Gerald Lamkin, signed what has been dubbed a “memorandum of understanding” that outlines more than 100 courses which will carry credits transferable to IU. Officials at the state community college and IU seem pleased with the outcome, which required a good deal of work from both parties over the past two years.\nThis new development presents an immediate concern, though, which many IU students might find troubling. The question at hand is whether or not an influx of transfer students from Ivy Tech, which has much lower admission standards than IU, will depreciate the value of an IU diploma. Some think that this would be the result, especially in light of the fact that Ivy Tech has no minimum SAT requirement for admittance. However, IU Director of Media Relations Larry MacIntyre denounced such views, saying that each course carrying transferable credit was thoroughly examined. All courses were found to be comparable to those at IU.\nThose who believe that IU degrees will be of less value after easier access is made possible are following a conceited notion. Rather than complain about “lesser” students being admitted, critics should acknowledge that the state is fulfilling its great responsibility to educate its populace. \nMore than 106,000 students attend Ivy Tech, many because of financial struggles rather than low test scores. In a job market that is becoming increasingly more educated, people are finding it necessary to be educated at the most accredited university possible. By allowing those less-advantaged students to transfer, IU is helping them build careers and become more competitive. Universities’ missions must inherently make it clear that they are dedicated to this end, and as a public university, IU must strive to do so for all state citizens. Affordability is a key for many who are considering attending college, and IU has taken a great step toward allowing this (though ever-increasing tuition costs might seem to contradict that idea).\nIn short, it is not necessarily the place of students who attend public universities such as IU to fear the depreciation of their degrees, since these institutions exist to serve all citizens. Nor does it seem in this case that the concern is legitimate seeing as how educators at IU have determined the transferable courses are up to par. IU will remain a prestigious name, and it is great that now many more Hoosiers will be able to benefit from it. It is unwarranted to worry that this will have significant effect on future IU graduates’ success in the job market. \nToday people are being faced with this decision: Go to college or work at McDonalds. With the signatures of Herbert and Lamkin, more Hoosiers will now be asking professors to explain advanced mathematics rather than asking out a drive-thru window, “Would you like ketchup with your fries?”