The recent flurry of agreements in Indiana allowing students to seamlessly transfer community college credits to four-year public institutions is welcome news. These agreements are the first of many steps Indiana must take to position itself for rapid economic change in a world where high school graduates are no longer guaranteed positions in the middle class.\nOur country used to be No. 1 internationally in the percentage of adults 25 to 34 years old with college degrees. Now we are stalled at No. 8, and other developed countries are moving ahead. If the United States is to regain its pre-eminence among nations with the best-educated workforces and maintain the strength of its social fabric, more must be done to educate students who traditionally have not been as successful in our colleges and universities.\nDemographic trends strongly suggest that non-traditional students will form the backbone of the economy in Indiana and other states as Baby Boomers retire. Many of these students are racial minorities, first-generation college-goers, older adults who see the need for a college degree in a changing labor market and young adults from low-income families who struggle to afford an education.\nIndiana’s latest credit-transfer agreements involving Ivy Tech State College and Vincennes University and Indiana’s universities will permit students to start college closer to home at much less expense to their families – and taxpayers – with the assurance their hard work will not go unrewarded.\nAdults studying at Ivy Tech’s 23 campuses can now save about $9,000 in tuition over two years before transferring to begin work on a four-year degree at IU. In addition, Ivy Tech has signed broad credit-transfer agreements with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Vincennes and the University of Southern Indiana have announced “One Admission, Two Universities.” And state lawmakers have set aside money for the DegreeLink program that allows Ivy Tech and Vincennes graduates to earn baccalaureate degrees from Indiana State University.\nIncreasing the widespread acceptance of community college credits is necessary to make college accessible to greater numbers of people and to free budgetary resources and space within four-year institutions. Indiana’s efforts toward aligning the coursework of the state’s two- and four-year institutions, backed by the Commission for Higher Education, are further evidence that lower cost and greater value can coexist within higher education.\nBut credit-transfer agreements alone are not enough. Higher education officials must ensure community college students get the help they need to take advantage of these agreements. Students who go on to pursue bachelor’s degrees also are likely to need extra help, including financial support, to succeed.\nWhen it comes to achieving this progress, Lumina Foundation for Education, a national nonprofit based in Indianapolis, is a firmly committed partner. The foundation spends one-tenth of its $50 million-a-year grant budget in Indiana on programs and policy research to encourage youngsters to plan and prepare adequately for college, to help Ivy Tech reach its potential as a community college and to find ways to curb rising college costs. The future Hoosiers want and deserve demands all of the above.
Martha Lamkin\nPresident and CEO\nLumina Foundation for Education
