Following the recent lead of Indiana University and Purdue, Ivy Tech is freezing tuition for some students.
There are two ways students can qualify. To freeze their tuition, Ivy Tech students must either complete at least 30 credit hours over the next two semesters – which puts them on track for graduation in two years – or they must be continuously enrolled in the next three semesters – that’s six hours each in the fall and spring, and three next summer.
Ivy Tech President Tom Snyder notes 65 percent of Ivy Tech enrollees take less than 12 hours a semester.
“If the students would stay continuously enrolled, that would enhance their completion rate and still permit them to go part-time,” Snyder said.
He adds that he’s not worried about the cost of a freeze.
“Right now the students are enrolled like one or two semesters a year as opposed to staying enrolled continually, and we think that that’ll probably more than offset any decline,” he said.
Lawmakers recently expressed some concerns about Ivy Tech’s completion rate, including in this year’s budget bill a Commission for Higher Education review of the community college system. Snyder says that pending examination played no role in Ivy Tech’s decision to freeze tuition.
