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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Governor gives students incentive to graduate early

Gov. Mitch Daniels is working to reward students who graduate early from high school with financial support.

At a press conference this past month, Daniels said he plans to ask the Indiana General Assembly to give early high school graduates the money the state would have otherwise spent on their 12th grade year. The money could then be used for higher education at a college or university within the state of Indiana.

Indiana spends $5,864.78 per student per year, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

“I congratulate the governor on being creative and not being afraid to push the edge of the envelope and to think differently,” State Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington) said.  

If this bill were to pass, students could potentially attend college as young as 16 or 17 years old.

While Welch said she supports the measure, she said she still has concerns about whether this particular proposal is the best way to increase the Indiana college
graduation rate.

Linda Connelly, a post high school counselor at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill., said 16 and 17 year olds are not emotionally or socially ready for a college setting.

“We are always pushing students ahead and never really give them time to develop socially and emotionally,” Connelly said. “I do not feel most 16, 17 year olds are ready to mix with 18 to 22 year olds in an academic setting.”

Welch proposes sending students to early college high schools, which allow students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree, or up to two years of credit toward a bachelor’s degree.

“This is one of the ways we can help students to get the college credits, but to also have the social safety net of high school,” Welch said. “These early colleges are getting academically transferable courses, but they are still within their high school settings so it achieves the same goal, but takes a different way of getting there.”

While this proposal may help parents that are financially unable to send their kids to college, it could also allow parents to pressure their students to graduate early who would otherwise prefer to stay in school, Connelly said.

“That’s a concern,” Welch said. “This is just one piece of a huge puzzle to reach that goal of increasing the number of Hoosier students that finish college.”

The Indiana Department of Education Superintendant Tony Bennett and Gov. Daniels will lead an Indiana education round table on Dec. 8 to discuss the bill’s agenda and language.

The Indiana Department of Education is not permitted to comment on the bill until after Dec. 8.

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