Life has changed in higher education and changed very rapidly. The value of most endowments, just like our portfolios and
401(k)s, has plummeted. Today, institutions with the strongest bottom lines are likely to be those with strong management
and business plans that work in today’s economy.
There’s reason to believe serious progress is coming, due to the people in leadership positions for the state in three key
areas: the Department of Education, the Commission for Higher Education and Ivy Tech Community College.
A little-known federal program provides support for retraining to workers whose employers were hurt by foreign trade. The
Trade Adjustment Assistance Act also offers income replacement and health insurance benefits.
Folks from all sorts of professions are trying on teaching, to survive the recession or to give back to the community. Or
both.
Fall Creek Academy is among a growing number of high schools that enroll their students to take classes at colleges, earning
credit toward both a high school and a college degree.
College affordability has gained a lot of attention over the past few years, but I am not sure that the simple focus on costs
is the right way to think about the
problem.
Your Dec. 8 editorial, "State flunking affordability test," quotes liberally from the National Center for Public
Policy and
Higher Education’s recent report, which concludes that 49 of 50 states—including Indiana—deserve an "F"
for their
affordability
efforts. Unfortunately, this grade is based on an analysis that dramatically overstates college costs in Indiana—or at
least
those costs incurred by Hoosiers attending Indiana University.
Business leaders and educators agree on what’s needed to improve Indiana’s economic health and enhance its place in the global
economy: a larger pool of skilled workers. Toward that end, a group of notfor-profits is expanding a program to get more low-income
Indianapolis students to further their education after high school.
With demand for welders outstripping supply, manufacturers, road and bridge builders, and other construction company owners
are all hurting. Despite a willingness to increase hourly wages and even offer signing bonuses, the search for welders is
getting more desperate.
