Indiana Wesleyan is going big on non-degree educational programs

In response to workforce demands and societal changes, Indiana Wesleyan University is doubling down on a new strategy: non-degree programs.

Founded in 1920, IWU offers undergraduate, graduate and divinity degrees at its Marion campus, its network of regional sites (including locations in Indianapolis and Greenwood) and online. But over the past few years, the private college has also begun offering non-degree credentials—programs that can help students upgrade their careers and employers train their existing workforce.

“The world’s changing,” said Andy Miller, IWU’s vice president of innovation and partnerships. “There’s a need now for just-in-time learning.”

Last month, IWU took a big step forward in its non-degree offerings with its acquisition of Indianapolis-based coding school Eleven Fifty Academy. IWU established a separate not-for-profit called the IWU Accelerator for the Eleven Fifty programs, which offer instruction in both software development and cybersecurity.

“Buying Eleven Fifty at this time was the right move for us,” said IWU Chancellor Eileen Hulme. “Now, we’re getting traction in places we’ve never had before.”

IWU plans to relaunch Eleven Fifty’s course offerings beginning next month (Eleven Fifty had put its enrollment on pause last fall, when the organization, previously led by tech entrepreneur Scott Jones, fell into financial distress). IWU said it is also working to add programs in health care and education to the IWU Accelerator.

But Marion-based IWU actually began venturing into non-degree programs a few years ago.

In 2019, the university launched what it calls The Talent Ladder, Powered by IWU—a division that offers training programs for individuals in fields that include health care, technology and manufacturing. Employers can also work with The Talent Ladder to create customized training that meets their workforce needs. The Talent Ladder’s rollout was slowed down once the pandemic hit, Hulme said, but it has gained momentum in the past 12 to 18 months.

IWU currently offers more than 50 career-related programs through the initiative, in addition to personal-development programs such as Bible studies and financial planning. More than 350 students have graduated from a Talent Ladder class so far.

The Talent Ladder name refers to the fact that these non-degree classes can also earn students academic credits to apply to an IWU degree should they decide to pursue one.

When IWU launched The Talent Ladder, Hulme said, the university talked with about 100 organizations in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky to see what kinds of training programs those organizations wanted to see. The university operates a total of 11 regional centers—adult education sites—across the three states. In Indiana, those sites are in Indianapolis, Greenwood, Marion, Kokomo, Fort Wayne and Merrillville.

And those conversations are ongoing, Hulme said. The school continues to talk with economic development and workforce leaders to see what type of training is needed in Indianapolis and elsewhere.

“We will be continually rolling out new offerings as we continue to understand that,” he said.

Data and artificial intelligence are two areas of promise, Hulme said, since those fields seem to be short on training opportunities.

The pandemic has also opened opportunities to expand IWU’s non-degree offerings in the areas of leadership and management training, the school said.

A wave of pandemic-induced retirements and departures meant some companies moved employees into management roles for which they weren’t fully prepared, Miller said. Non-degree coursework could help get these new managers up to speed.

IWU also sees an opportunity to add wraparound coaching services. For instance, the school could offer instruction in leadership, while also offering coaching to help students tackle their specific workplace challenges.

“We’re going to be trying some really different approaches, because we’re not sure that the traditional approaches are helping that much,” Hulme said.

Tapping into a trend

In venturing into the world of non-degree credentials, IWU is tapping into an emerging trend.

“The economy now makes it really hard to get one degree that’s going to serve you for life,” said Dennis Trinkle, senior vice president of talent, strategy and partnerships at Indianapolis-based TechPoint. “Higher education is just catching up with the reality that they have to complement degrees with continuous professional development activity.”

TechPoint, a not-for-profit that works to support the state’s tech industry, sees non-degree credentialing as a key tool in growing the state’s workforce.

In mid-2022, TechPoint launched Mission 41K, an initiative that aims to add 41,000 tech jobs to the state’s economy by 2030. That will require tech-sector job growth averaging 4% per year, which is roughly double what the growth rate had been for many years.

One of the ways Mission 41K aims to reach that goal is by promoting the concept of skills-based hiring. The phrase refers to the practice of evaluating job applicants based on their skills even if they don’t hold a college degree.

Trinkle, who is leading TechPoint’s Mission 41K initiative, said college degrees and years of experience have traditionally served as “convenient things” employers can use to screen job candidates, even if the job itself could be done by a non-degreed employee.

Traditionally, Trinkle said, about 70% of tech jobs in Indiana have set a college degree as a requirement. That percentage declined to about 60% last year.

But there’s still a lot of room to drop that percentage even lower, he said, because only about 25% of the state’s tech-sector jobs actually do require a degree. The other 75% could successfully be held by someone with relevant skills but no college degree.

“That does open up the possibility of lots of positions to be defined by skills,” Trinkle said, which is where programs like Eleven Fifty and other non-degree training can help fill the state’s talent gap.

The need for new tech workers is so great, Trinkle said, that Indiana needs all available options—both degree-based education and non-degree programs—in order to hit its Mission 41K goal.

And in November, the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet issued a report with recommendations about building the state’s talent pipeline and helping employers find the right talent.

Among the recommendations was the creation of an organization called the Indiana Talent Agency. Led by the Department of Workforce Development, the talent agency would connect employers with schools and training providers, “with the focus of providing quick response, customized training for a modern, rapidly changing, digital economy,” the report says.

In an email to IBJ, the DWD said a variety of tools—degree and non-degree programs, as well as academic credit and non-credit-bearing programs—are needed to meet the demands of what it calls the “knowledge/people” economy.

“This is an evolving environment and as such employers will need to leverage the various tools in the market to support the evolving needs of their workforce,” the statement said.

Community partnerships

Ken Sullivan, senior pastor at New Direction Church in Indianapolis, said he also sees a demand for non-degree training programs.

The church on East 38th Street between Emerson and Arlington avenues recently partnered with IWU to offer church members and community residents a chance to earn their degrees at a reduced cost from IWU’s regular tuition.

Since the partnership’s launch a few months ago, Sullivan said, five people have enrolled in the program, which offers primarily online instruction leading to 40 different academic degrees.

Now that IWU has acquired Eleven Fifty, Sullivan said, “that kind of makes [the university partnership] even that much more attractive.”

New Direction was a participant in Advancing Tech in 46218, an Eleven Fifty initiative that launched in July 2021 to bring computer education to residents of the 46218 ZIP code on the city’s east side.

“We had a huge response from the community,” Sullivan said, with more than 100 people indicating interest.

The 46218 program dwindled after a strong start, Sullivan said, but he expects demand to be rekindled when Eleven Fifty enrollment reopens under IWU, especially given the university’s credibility.

And if the church is able to expand its IWU partnership to add non-degree programming beyond Eleven Fifty, Sullivan predicted that would be a hit, too. “I would absolutely love to be able to do that,” the pastor said. “I think we would really get a huge response if we were able to offer additional programs.”

Sullivan himself is an IWU graduate—he holds a master’s degree in Christian leadership from the school.

A non-degree credential can be an appealing way for people to improve their lives without the time and expense required for a traditional degree program, Sullivan said.

Non-degree programs are especially appealing to young people, who tend to view education through a less traditional lens, he said. “This generation is into creating their own classes on YouTube.”•