The State of Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College today announced a new partnership they said will offer state employees an affordable education with no upfront tuition costs. “This is an investment in our state employees that provide them with more flexibility to pursue education opportunities that ultimately contribute to a stronger workforce,” said Governor Eric Holcomb. “We are grateful for this partnership with Ivy Tech that will ease the up-front financial burden for our employees to enroll in courses.”
The state will join Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree (AYD) program. Rather than paying for tuition expenses at the time of enrollment, which officials say can be a barrier for some employees seeking to earn degrees and certificates, the state will pay Ivy Tech directly upon an employee’s successful completion of a course. State employees already have education reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year. Ivy Tech’s full-time annual tuition is less than $4,500, and the agreement with Ivy Tech means that qualifying employees won’t have to be reimbursed, but rather can enroll and begin taking classes with no upfront costs. Additionally, a news release also said the College will provide the state with a rebate of up to 5% of the net tuition paid, which means the state will benefit from an even lower education cost. All Ivy Tech campuses across the state are participating.
“The State of Indiana is once again leading by example, this time by providing tuition assistance to employees, making it easier for individuals to pay for higher education,” said Ivy Tech Community College President Sue Ellspermann. “Programs like Achieve Your Degree can help businesses build their own talent pipeline through recruitment of individuals without a degree and helping those individuals learn the skills necessary to advance.”
