Through its affordable, open-access education and training programs, the College enhances the development of Indiana’s citizens and communities and strengthens its economy.

– From the Ivy Tech

Community College

mission statement

Ivy Tech officials don’t need to do anything to get the attention of the Indiana General Assembly. Its senior staff, after all, includes the House speaker and chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. But the prospect of limiting enrollment at the statewide community college system should command the attention of policymakers. If the state is intent on increasing participation and success in higher education, it must dedicate the resources necessary and ensure they are used efficiently and effectively.

Last week, the Ivy Tech provost, Don Doucette, said limiting enrollment was a possibility.

“We will look to fill every available seat consistent with the funding we receive but may not have enough seats for all of the students coming to the community college,” Doucette said. “It is likely we will have to turn students away. We may have no other choice.”

In an interview Monday, the provost said he wasn’t suggesting an enrollment cap, only noting that the college is exploring all contingencies. Enrollment for next fall is up 25 percent from this time last year, and Ivy Tech has no idea how much it will receive from the state because the budget has yet to be approved. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education, however, took the provost’s remarks as the signal for an enrollment cap:

“Capping enrollment at the state’s open-door two-year technical/community college system is an unprecedented action that should not be taken,” stated a news release from the commission.

It cautioned the community college from acting quickly and encouraged “short-term solutions” of expanding distance learning and class sizes and hiring more part-time faculty.

Doucette expressed frustration with the commission’s statement. The solutions it offered haven’t been overlooked, he said. Ivy Tech has increased its distance-learning programs by 40 percent each year over the last five years, for example.

The commission’s news release noted that “Ivy Tech generally has many classes with fewer than 16 students, especially after the first few weeks of classes when some students drop courses.”

But Doucette pointed out that class size is dictated by content. While it might be appropriate to increase the size of some general studies courses, accreditation requirements demand strict limits for others. Clinical courses in nursing, for example, can’t exceed 10 students. Instruction is compromised if courses in computer-assisted design and other technical courses are too large, Doucette said, and students in remedial courses need smaller faculty-student ratios.

The provost pointed out that the Commission for Higher Education has called on Ivy Tech to increase its retention and success rates – a task that demands more full-time faculty. Part-time faculty bring a lot to Ivy Tech in terms of real-world experience, he said, but they don’t have the time to advise students, to evaluate curriculum and to otherwise take steps necessary to increase student success. There also is a shortage of qualified adjunct faculty in many areas of the state, Doucette said.

Effects of recession

Ivy Tech has grown over the last decade to become the state’s largest institution of higher education. It is coming up against the demands K-12 educators have grappled with for some time. Demands for accountability are clashing with declining resources, leaving educators in the lurch.

As a result of the recession, the community college system is strained by adult students looking for retraining and by recent high school graduates choosing Ivy Tech as the more affordable option.

If lawmakers insist on better outcomes in the community college system, they will have to invest more – a point that they seem to have accepted with regard to K-12 schools, if their efforts to maintain funding levels are any indication.

But hefty increases for Ivy Tech are unlikely, given the state’s economic prospects. Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, points out that giving more to Ivy Tech will mean cutting funds for K-12 or the state’s other universities. A 37-year veteran of the legislative process, he said he would like to see more efficiencies among the latter.

“We’ve clamped down on K-12 and demanded results, and they’ve shown some results,” he said. “But higher education keeps going along at the same rate. I’m sure they are going to come out with requests for 4- or 5-percent tuition increases.”

Steep job losses prove Indiana hasn’t positioned itself well for economic downturn. Perhaps the recession should be the wake-up call the state needs to finally shape its schools, community college system and universities in a fashion that better serves its residents.