Ivy Tech Exec Extols Benefits of Dual Credit
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe senior vice president of work force alignment at the state’s largest post-secondary education institution says completion and availability of dual credit courses for Hoosier high schoolers continue to rise. Chris Lowery says 59,000 high school students right now are taking college courses offered by Ivy Tech alone, double what it was two years ago. In May, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education released a study showing dual credit course participation is at an all-time high.
In an interview on Inside INdiana Business Television, Lowery said taking college courses in high school can have big benefits for students and parents. Students, he says, can conceivably save some $25,000 in college costs before even setting foot on a college campus. "They can get a jump-start on college," Lowery said. "Maybe it’s 12 credits, maybe it’s a full-year’s-worth of credits, so the cost savings to a family can be enormous — especially if a student, his or her family is intentional." Gaining credit before college can also help students complete college earlier than two or four years.
In addition to knocking out some course work before entering a traditional institution, some offerings can go toward career and technical training credit. Lowery says more students are working with Ivy Tech and other schools on classes that go toward industry-recognized certificates and can ease the path into high-demand career fields right out of high school including advanced manufacturing, logistics, information technology and health care.