Ivy Tech Community College announces plans to freeze tuition
(PRWEB) May 21, 2015 -- INDIANAPOLIS – Ivy Tech Community College has announced plans to freeze tuition for those students who remain enrolled continuously from term to term starting with the Fall 2015 semester and also for those students who enroll in 30+ credit hours combined for the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 terms.
“This is an incentive model for both our non-traditional, part-time students along with those full-time students on a two-year track to graduation,” said Ivy Tech President Thomas J. Snyder. “We know students who are continuously enrolled are more likely to complete a credential. ”
“Ivy Tech’s plan to freeze tuition for students who remain enrolled semester-to-semester is aligned to Indiana’s increased focus on college affordability and completion,” Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Teresa Lubbers said. “Ivy Tech should be commended for taking this important step in the right direction that also supports our statewide goal for 60 percent of Hoosiers to have a quality degree or credential by 2025.”
Ivy Tech will freeze tuition at the Fall 2015 credit hour rate for students who remain enrolled in a minimum number of credit hours for continuous semesters. To be eligible for the tuition freeze, students must remain enrolled in at least 6 credit hours for both the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters, as well as at least 3 credit hours for the Summer 2016 semester. Or complete 30+ combined hours over the course of the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semester.
The tuition freeze will likely encourage students to stay enrolled each term and will benefit the more than 65 percent of Ivy Tech students who enroll in less than 12 credit hours per term. Non-traditional students are at a greater risk of not completing a credential due to life or work issues that prevent them from staying enrolled on a full-time basis. The tuition freeze concept allows them to benefit from the cost savings while staying enrolled in consecutive semesters on a part-time basis. It also rewards a different group of students who are taking a full-time load that averages 15+ credit hours for the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 terms.
Students taking the minimum number of credits in continuous terms would be positioned to graduate in four years. The College believes many students will exceed the minimum number of credits resulting in more students graduating in three or less years. The freeze will also help students stay on a successful track and help them meet course completion and grade point average requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) ensuring that they keep their federal Pell financial aid eligibility.
Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
Kelly Hauflaire, Ivy Tech Community College, +1 (317) 417-3582, [email protected]
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